Optical diagnosis of precisely cut HNSCC slices for precision medicine

Since tumor doubling time of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is on the order of 100 days, prescribing the most effective treatment for HNSCC patients is of great benefit to the patients. In this work, we describe the use of precisely cut tumor slices on the order of 200 mm in thickness for testing the effect of chemotherapy drugs. Both spectroscopic and microscopic imaging were used to analyze treatment efficacy. Overall, viability of tumor slices decreases with increased drug concentration although within the same patient, drug response varies among different tumor slices. With additional development, this approach may be used to predict treatment of chemotherapy and immunotherapy response for personalized medicine.