Terahertz Characterisation of Artificially Cultured Oral Cancer with Stem Cell Lines for Healthcare Applications

Due to the asymptomatic properties of oral cancer, it can hardly be detected in the early stage and lead to metastasise effects. Terahertz (THz) radiation has outstanding potential in early cancer detection as a non-ionizing, non-invasive, and label free method. Malignant tissue commonly has a higher water amount than normal tissue, which can be observed in the optical parameters. In-vivo and ex-vivo measurements based on frozen freshly excised tissue may cause tissue damage and requires complex conditions and expensive facilities. On the other hand, the technology of artificially cultured cells allows to thoroughly analyse the effect of various biological parameters with different concentrations and interactions. In this work, we have cultured artificial oral squamous cell carcinoma with stem cell lines and studied its electromagnetic properties in the frequency range of 0.2 to 1.5 THz. In comparison with the normal tissue, we observed a higher refractive index and absorption coefficient in line with the expectations. The reason is that cancerous cells degrade the contraction of normal cells causing more water content in tumour area. This study highlights the impact of oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) on the optical parameters of artificial skin tissue and can contribute in techniques that diagnose and detect tumours at the early stage.

Automated summary

Due to its asymptomatic properties, oral cancer is difficult to detect in the early stages. However, terahertz radiation has shown potential as a non-ionizing and non-invasive method for early cancer detection. This study focused on the electromagnetic properties of artificially cultured oral squamous cell carcinoma and found that it has higher refractive index and absorption coefficient compared to normal tissue. Understanding the optical parameters of artificial skin tissue can contribute to techniques for diagnosing and detecting tumors at an early stage.