Electric and Viscoelastic Parameters of Erythrocytes in Models for Diagnostics of Adenomatous Polyps and Stages of Colorectal Cancer in Optical Detection of Cells in an Inhomogeneous Alternating Electric Field

Using the method of dielectrophoresis an optical cell detection system in an inhomogeneous alternating electric field, the electrical and viscoelastic parameters of red blood cells in the frequency range from 5 × 10 4 to 1 × 10 6 MHz have been studied in 129 patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) of various stages of the disease, 25 people with adenomatous polyps, and 35 people in the comparison group. It has been shown that the values of the physical characteristics of red blood cells significantly differ both when comparing the control groups and the patients with adenomatous polyps and the patients with early stages of CRC and when comparing the patients with different stages of the oncological process with each other. The construction of SHAP graphs based on the electrical and viscoelastic parameters of red blood cells has allowed us to achieve 100% diagnostic accuracy in distinguishing patients with adenomatous polyps and early stages of CRC from healthy individuals, 98.7% accuracy—in differentiating the patients with polyps from the patients with early stages of CRC, and 91.9% accuracy—in distinguishing early and late stages of CRC. The results obtained demonstrate the high potential of the proposed method for screening and diagnosing CRC.