Grant: Project Grant

Despite advances in treatment modalities, the 5-year survival rates for oral cancer (OC) remain at 30-60% and are among the worst of all cancer types. Many survivors endure major functional, cosmetic, and psychological burdens because of dysfunction of the ability to speak, swallow, breathe, and chew. There is overwhelming evidence that favorable survival and treatment outcomes correlate strongly with early diagnosis. Despite the seeming ease with which OC should be diagnosed, given their probable visibility on examination, many OCs are not identified until the lesions are advanced. More timely diagnosis is often hindered by patient reluctance to undergo biopsy, sampling errors, and the lack of a profound clinical presentation that differentiates malignant from nonmalignant lesions. Conventional oral examination has a sensitivity of only 44% for OC detection. Our objective is to develop a novel optical approach to improve the clinical management of OC. A miniaturized optical probe based on a technology called Raman spectroscopy will be developed that analyzes the tissue biochemistry before biopsy. We expect that this new technology when successfully developed will greatly improve OC early detection. Coupled with earlier treatment we could greatly improve the survival rate and quality of life for OC patients. And it will also bring significant cost saving to the Canadian Healthcare System.