Evidence of intrinsic differences in the light scattering properties of tumorigenic and nontumorigenic cells

Abstract

BACKGROUND. The objective of this study was to determine whether there are intrinsic differences in the light scattering properties of tumorigenic and nontumorigenic cells from a multistep carcinogenesis model. METHODS. Wavelength-dependent and polarization-dependent light scattering properties of cell suspensions were measured. RESULTS. Statistically significant differences were found between the tumorigenic and nontumorigenic cells. CONCLUSIONS. Differences in the light scattering properties of tumorigenic and nontumorigenic cells are attributed to a change in the average size of the scattering centers on the order of a few ten of nanometers. This work is relevant to the development of noninvasive optical methods for cancer diagnosis.