Diagnostic potential of autofluorescence for an assisted intraoperative delineation of glioblastoma resection margins.

The intrinsic autofluorescence properties of biological tissues are affected by the histological and biochemical alterations induced by pathological processes. The potential of autofluorescence to distinguish tumor from normal tissues was verified for the real-time diagnostic application in neurosurgery to delineate glioblastoma resection margins. The autofluorescence properties of non-neoplastic and neoplastic tissues were analyzed on tissue sections and homogenates by microspectrofluorometry, and directly on patients affected by glioblastoma multiforme, during surgical operation, with a fiber-optic probe. Differences in both spectral shape and signal amplitude were found on tissue sections from peritumoral non-neoplastic to neoplastic tissues, and in patients, when comparing the glioblastoma lesion autofluorescence to that of cortex and white matter, taken as healthy tissues. Both biochemical composition and histological organization proved to contribute to modify the autofluorescence emission of neoplastic- with respect to non-neoplastic brain tissues. The differences found in the in vivo analysis confirm the prospects for the improving of the efficacy of tumor resection margin delineation in neurosurgery.