Detection of breast cancer metastatic lymph nodes by fluorescence lifetime macro-imaging
Anton A. Plekhanov1, Marina V. Shirmanova1, Aleksei Gaier2, Varvara V. Dudenkova1, Arseniy L. Potapov1, Alexey Yu. Vorontsov3, Evgeny A. Shirshin4, Wolfgang Becker5, Riccardo Cicchi6, João L. Lagarto7, Vladislav V. Yakovlev8, Sergey V. Gamayunov3, Vladislav I. Shcheslavskiy1,5; 1Privolzhsky Research Medical University, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia; 2École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; 3Nizhny Novgorod Regional Oncological Hospital, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia; 4M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia; 5Becker & Hickl GmbH, Berlin, Germany; 6National Institute of Optics (CNR-INO), Florence, Italy; 7Champalimaud Foundation, Biophotonics Platform, Lisbon, Portugal; 8Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
Abstract
Accurate and timely evaluation of sentinel (draining the primary tumor) lymph nodes (SLNs) remains one of the most critical components in surgical planning and staging for breast cancer, skin melanoma or gynecological cancers. In this study, we introduce macroscopic fluorescence lifetime imaging (macro-FLIM) as label-free and non-invasive technology for intraoperative detection of breast cancer metastasis in SLNs. Unlike traditional imaging or histological evaluation, macro-FLIM capitalizes on the intrinsic fluorescence lifetimes of metabolic cofactors, offering rapid, dye-free diagnostics cancerous lesions among benign SLN tissues.
This study bridges preclinical validation in murine breast carcinoma model with a clinical evaluation of lymph nodes from breast cancer patients, establishing macro-FLIM’s strong translational potential. We further used a machine learning-based image analysis, which delivers automated and objective results at clinically relevant timescales.
The study was funded by the Russian Science Foundation, grant # 25-14-00313.
Speaker
Anton A. Plekhanov
Privolzhsky Research Medical University, Nizhny Novgorod
Russia
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