Melanoma Detection by AFM Indentation of Histological Specimens

Melanoma is visible unlike other types of cancer, but it is still challenging to diagnose correctly because of the difficulty in distinguishing between benign nevus and melanoma. We conducted a robust investigation of melanoma, identifying considerable differences in local elastic properties between...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inDiagnostics (Basel) Vol. 12; no. 7; p. 1736
Main Authors Jeon, Byoungjun, Jung, Hyo Gi, Lee, Sang Won, Lee, Gyudo, Shim, Jung Hee, Kim, Mi Ok, Kim, Byung Jun, Kim, Sang-Hyon, Lee, Hyungbeen, Lee, Sang Woo, Yoon, Dae Sung, Jo, Seong Jin, Choi, Tae Hyun, Lee, Wonseok
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Switzerland MDPI AG 17.07.2022
MDPI
Subjects
atomic force microscopy
benign nevus
Glass substrates
malignant melanoma
mechanical characterization
Mechanical properties
Melanoma
Microscopy
Morphology
nanoindentation
Physical properties
Skin cancer
Tumorigenesis
Tumors
benign nevus
nanoindentation
malignant melanoma
atomic force microscopy
mechanical characterization
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Melanoma is visible unlike other types of cancer, but it is still challenging to diagnose correctly because of the difficulty in distinguishing between benign nevus and melanoma. We conducted a robust investigation of melanoma, identifying considerable differences in local elastic properties between nevus and melanoma tissues by using atomic force microscopy (AFM) indentation of histological specimens. Specifically, the histograms of the elastic modulus of melanoma displayed multimodal Gaussian distributions, exhibiting heterogeneous mechanical properties, in contrast with the unimodal distributions of elastic modulus in the benign nevus. We identified this notable signature was consistent regardless of blotch incidence by sex, age, anatomical site (e.g., thigh, calf, arm, eyelid, and cheek), or cancer stage (I, IV, and V). In addition, we found that the non-linearity of the force-distance curves for melanoma is increased compared to benign nevus. We believe that AFM indentation of histological specimens may technically complement conventional histopathological analysis for earlier and more precise melanoma detection.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 23
These authors contributed equally to this work.
ISSN:2075-4418
2075-4418
DOI:10.3390/diagnostics12071736