Fluorescence Spectroscopy as a Tool for the Assessment of Liver Samples with Several Stages of Fibrosis

Background: During the last years, fluorescence spectroscopy has been used as a potential tool for the evaluation and characterization of tissues with different disease conditions due to its low cost, high sensitivity, and minimally or noninvasive character. Objective: In this study, fluorescence spectroscopy was used to study 19 paraffin blocks containing human liver tissue from biopsies. Methods and results: All samples were previously analyzed by two senior pathologists in a single-blind trial. After their evaluation, four liver samples were classified as nonfibrosis (F0), four as initial fibrosis (F1-F2), four as advanced fibrosis (F3), and six as cirrhosis (F4). The fluorescence was induced at different wavelengths as follows: 330, 365, and 405 nm using a portable fiber-optic system. The fluorescence spectra were recorded in the range of 400-750 nm. A distinctive correlation between the shape of each spectrum and the level of fibrosis in the liver sample was detected. A multi-variate statistical analysis based on principal component analysis followed by linear discrimination analysis was applied to develop algorithms able to distinguish different stages of fibrosis based on the characteristics of fluorescence spectra. Pairwise comparisons were performed: F0 versus F1-F2, F1-F2 versus F3, F3 versus F4, and F1-F2 versus F4. The algorithms applied to each set of data yielded values of sensitivity and specificity that were higher than 90% and 95%, respectively, in all the analyzed cases. Conclusions: With this study, it is concluded that fluorescence spectroscopy can be used as a complementary tool for the assessment of liver fibrosis in liver tissue samples, which sets the stage for subsequent clinical trials.