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. 2018 Nov;4(6):065025.
doi: 10.1088/2057-1976/aae699. Epub 2018 Oct 23.

Pulsed Terahertz Reflection Imaging of tumors in a spontaneous model of breast cancer

Nagma Vohra  1 , Tyler Bowman  1 , Paola M Diaz  2 , Narasimhan Rajaram  2 , Keith Bailey  3 , Magda El-Shenawee  1
Affiliations

Pulsed Terahertz Reflection Imaging of tumors in a spontaneous model of breast cancer

Nagma Vohra et al. Biomed Phys Eng Express. 2018 Nov.

Abstract

We report the use of reflection-mode terahertz (THz) imaging in a transgenic mouse model of breast cancer. Unlike tumor xenografts that are grown from established cell lines, these tumors were spontaneously generated in the mammary fat pad of mice, and are a better representation of human breast cancer. THz imaging results from 7 tumors that recapitulate the compartmental complexity of breast cancer are presented here. Imaging was first performed on freshly excised tumors within an hour of excision and then repeated after fixation with formalin and paraffin. These THz images were then compared with histopathology to determine reflection-mode signals from specific regions within tumor. Our results demonstrate that the THz signal was consistently higher in cancerous tissue compared with fat, muscle, and fibrous tissue. Almost all tumors presented in this work demonstrated advanced stages where cancer infiltrated other tissues like fat and fibrous stroma. As the first known THz investigation in a transgenic model, these results hold promise for THz imaging at different stages of breast cancer.

Keywords: Terahertz imaging; breast cancer; pathology; reflection mode; transgenic.

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Figures

Fig. A1
Fig. A1
Refractive index and absorption coefficient of DMEM, PBS, and water vs frequency.
Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Summary of imaging procedure of transgenic tumors
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
(a) Terahertz imaging system diagram for the reflection mode of fresh tumors, (b) Incident time domain THz pulse, and (c) frequency domain signal following Fourier transform.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
THz reflection images of transgenic mice breast tumor 1(14-A), (a) Frequency domain THz image of freshly excised tumor represented by spectral power, (b) Time domain THz image of FFPE tumor tissue block represented by peak value, (c) Low power pathology image (d) Time domain signals of normalized reflected electric field at selected pixels ①-⑦, (e) Spectrum of normalized reflected electric field of the signals shown in (d). The high power pathology images of surrounding regions of ①-⑦ are shown. All THz signals are normalized with respect to a reference signal reflected from a gold mirror.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
THz reflection images of transgenic mice breast tumor 2 (15-A), (a) Frequency domain THz image of freshly excised tumor represented by spectral power, (b) Time domain THz image of FFPE tissue block represented by peak value, (c) Low power pathology image (d) Time domain signals of normalized reflected electric field at selected pixels ①-⑦, (e) Spectrum of normalized reflected electric field of the signals shown in (d). The high power pathology images of surrounding regions of ①-⑦ are shown. All THz signals are normalized with respect to a reference signal reflected from a gold mirror.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
THz reflection images of transgenic mice breast tumor 3 (15-D), (a) Frequency domain THz image of freshly excised tumor represented by spectral power, (b) Time domain THz image of FFPE tumor tissue block represented by peak value, (c) Low power pathology image (d) Time domain signals of normalized reflected electric field at selected pixels ①-⑤, (e) Spectrum of normalized reflected electric field of the signals shown in (d). The high power pathology images of surrounding regions of ①-⑤ are shown. All THz signals are normalized with respect to a reference signal reflected from a gold mirror.
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
THz reflection images of transgenic mice breast tumor 4 (15-E), (a) Frequency domain THz image of freshly excised tumor represented by spectral power, (b) Time domain THz image of FFPE tissue block represented by peak value, (c) Low power pathology image (d) Time domain signals of normalized reflected electric field at selected pixels ①-⑦, (e) Spectrum of normalized reflected electric field of the signals shown in (d). The high power pathology images of surrounding regions of ①-⑦ are shown. All THz signals are normalized with respect to a reference signal reflected from a gold mirror.
Fig. 7
Fig. 7
THz reflection images of transgenic mice breast tumor 5 (15-B), (a) Frequency domain THz image of freshly excised tumor represented by spectral power, (b) Time domain THz image of FFPE tissue block represented by peak value, (c) Low power pathology image (d) Time domain signals of normalized reflected electric field at selected pixels ①-⑥, (e) Spectrum of normalized reflected electric field of the signals shown in (d). The high power pathology images of surrounding regions of ①-⑥ are shown. All THz signals are normalized with respect to a reference signal reflected from a gold mirror.
Fig. 8
Fig. 8
THz reflection images of transgenic mice breast tumor 6 (14-C), (a) Frequency domain THz image of freshly excised tumor represented by spectral power, (b) Time domain THz image of FFPE tissue block represented by peak value, (c) Low power pathology image (d) Time domain signals of normalized reflected electric field at selected pixels ①-④, (e) Spectrum of normalized reflected electric field of the signals shown in (d). The high power pathology images of surrounding regions of ①-④ are shown. All THz signals are normalized with respect to a reference signal reflected from a gold mirror.
Fig. 9
Fig. 9
THz reflection images of transgenic mice breast tumor 7(12-A), (a) Frequency domain THz image of freshly excised tumor represented by spectral power, (b) Time domain THz image of FFPE tissue block represented by peak value, (c) Low power pathology image (d) Time domain signals of normalized reflected electric field at selected pixels ①-⑥, (e) Spectrum of normalized reflected electric field of the signals shown in (d). The high power pathology images of surrounding regions of ①-⑥ are shown. All THz signals are normalized with respect to a reference signal reflected from a gold mirror.
Fig. 10
Fig. 10
Summary Charts for (a) Fresh tumors, and (b) FFPE tissue block.
Fig. 10
Fig. 10
Summary Charts for (a) Fresh tumors, and (b) FFPE tissue block.
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