Abstract A01: Clinical detection of melanoma via endogenous fluorophore lifetime imaging

Objective: The 5-year survival for cutaneous malignant head and neck melanoma is very poor (17%). As proof of principle, we detect variations in endogenous fluorophore lifetimes by illuminating tissue with pulsed ultraviolet (UV) light. We have previously shown that dynamic optical contrast imaging is capable of delineating tumor margins. Our aim herein was to acquire clinical and intraoperative multispectral images that permit selection of regions of interest (ROI) to reliably and noninvasively perform a rapid optical biopsy in the patient. Methods: Patient cases of cutaneous melanoma were acquired with pulsed UV illumination utilizing a 6-diode in-series system. Emitted fluorescence was detected with a nanosecond gated CCD detector. The acquired signal is transformed into a relative difference value representing tissue fluorophore lifetime. Results: From (n=4) patient cases we acquired DOCI images both pre- and post-resection leading to a database of in vivo relative lifetime values that align to histology sections from corresponding locations via pathology. The spectral features of our images enabled classification of clinician-determined regions of interest in DOCI images in order to establish measures of internal and external validity of our novel device. Conclusion: Our device augments native tissue contrast via wide-field imaging to produce spatially resolved and pathology-specific maps of tissue. Our database of histology-matched real-time images is aimed to permit intraoperative guidance for tumor margin delineation in dermatologic surgery. Citation Format: Peter A. Pellionisz, Yong Hu, Jenny Kim, Warren Grundfest, Maie A. St. John. Clinical detection of melanoma via endogenous fluorophore lifetime imaging [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Melanoma: From Biology to Target; 2019 Jan 15-18; Houston, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(19 Suppl):Abstract nr A01.