New Study on Non-Invasive Screening for Laryngeal Cancer Published in American Journal of Otolaryngology

We are excited to announce that our lab’s latest study, “Non-invasive screening for laryngeal cancer using the oral cavity as a proxy for differentiation of laryngeal cancer versus leukoplakia: A novel application of ESS technology and artificial intelligence supported statistical modeling,” has been published in the American Journal of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Medicine and Surgery, available online as of December 24, 2024.

Laryngeal leukoplakia – a precursor to laryngeal cancer – presently requires patients to frequently visit ENT specialists for examination and biopsy. The study, authored by Mitali Sakharkar, Gabriele Spokas, Lucas Berry, Kadesh Daniels, Pravarut Nithagon, Eladio Rodriguez-Diaz, Ph.D., Lauren Tracy, M.D., Jacob Pieter Noordzij, M.D., Irving Bigio, Ph.D., Gregory Grillone, M.D., and Gintas Krisciunas, MPH, MA, Ph.D., explores a novel approach to laryngeal cancer screening that utilizes elastic scattering spectroscopy (ESS). ESS – a novel technology developed by the Boston University Biomedical Optics Lab – uses light refraction patterns and artificial intelligence to distinguish between human tissue types. The technology is advantageous because it’s non-invasive, produces results in real-time, and can be built into devices that are easily operable by non-specialists. For example, ESS lies at the core of DermaSensor devices used by primary care physicians to screen for skin cancer.

You can read the full study at ScienceDirect. To learn more about our lab’s ongoing research in this area, visit here.