Infrared microspectroscopic imaging of benign breast tumor tissue sections

Abstract We have applied infrared microspectroscopic imaging for the examination of benign breast tumor tissue sections. The IR spectra of the sections were obtained by classical point microscopy with a movable stage and via a microscope equipped with a focal plane array detector. The infrared microscopic data were analysed using functional group mapping techniques and cluster analysis. The output values of the two procedures were reassembled into infrared images of the tissues, and were compared with standard staining images of the corresponding tissue region. The comparative examination of identical tissue sections by the two IR approaches enabled us to assess potential problems associated with tissue microheterogeneity. It was found that in case of fibroadenoma, a benign lesion located in breast ducts, point microscopy with a spot size of ∼30 μm is a useful practical approach which minimizes the possibility of ‘contamination’ of the spectra because of spectral averaging of all tissue components present in the corresponding microareas. A comparison of the spectra of the benign breast tumor with those of a malignant ductal carcinoma in situ revealed that IR microspectroscopy has the potential to differentiate between these two breast tumor types.