Investigation of Keratinizing Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Tongue Using Terahertz Reflection Imaging

We investigated the feasibility of using terahertz (THz) reflection imaging to detect keratinizing squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the tongue. Four fresh keratinizing SCC tissues were studied, which had been surgically resected. All of the keratinizing SCCs were well distinguished from normal healthy tissues. We showed that the tumor regions exhibited low THz reflection despite having higher water content than normal regions. The refractive indices and absorption coefficients were low in the tumor tissues despite the relatively high water content. Our results showed that there were dominant factors such as keratin pearls, other than the water content affecting the THz reflection signal.