Figure 5.
Hyperspectral imaging of OTSCC
Hyperspectral imaging analysis of OTSCC sections representative of the extratumoral stroma (ExtraT), PeriT stroma near to OTSCC at stages I–IV (named respectively PeriT S-I, PeriT S-II, PeriT S-III, and PeriT S-IV), and IntraT stroma at stage IV (IntraT).
(A) Microphotographs of the mapped areas (164 × 164 μm2 size, with 4,096 pixel/IR spectra; spatial resolution: 2.56 × 2.56 μm2; pink asterisks indicate the PeriT areas).
(B and C) False color images showing the topographical distribution of (B) proteins (PROTEINS images) and (C) collagen (COLLAGEN images); false color images were built by using a specific color scale, with blue referring to areas with the lowest absorbance values, while white/pink to those with the highest ones; due to differences in the absorbance values, different scales were used for proteins and collagen.
(D) Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) images (green color defining the areas with higher proteins amounts, while orange specifically indicating regions richer in collagen). Number of sections investigated: Nr. 70, two for each biopsy; on each section, an IR image was acquired respectively on the ExtraT, PeriT, and IntraT areas.