<title>Early detection of dysplasia in colon and bladder tissue using laser-induced fluorescence</title>

Abstract

Laser induced fluorescence has been explored as an early detection scheme for two clinically important examples of neoplasia: colorectal dysplasia and transitional cell carcinoma in the urinary bladder. In both, it is desirable to detect microscopic and biochemical changes of pre-cancer in order to identify patients at risk for developing invasive carcinoma. This paper will compare the fluorescence obtained from these two pre-cancerous conditions, and discuss the connection between the fluorescence and the morphological/molecular changes occurring in the tissue. The similarities and differences in the fluorescence will be compared to determine the general features of pre-cancerous changes that might be utilized for detection of the disease.