A new Houston Methodist study highlights a promising noninvasive imaging technique that could help doctors more accurately diagnose papillary thyroid cancer, the most common type of thyroid cancer.

The approach, second harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy, uses light to examine changes in collagen, the protein that helps give structure to our tissues.

These subtle changes in the tissue may signal if a thyroid nodule is cancerous.

Published in the Journal of Biomedical Optics, the study was co-led by Stephen Wong, Ph.D., the John S. Dunn Presidential Distinguished Chair in Biomedical Engineering at Houston Methodist and Raksha Raghuanthan, Ph.D., assistant professor at the Houston Methodist Research Institute.

“This work is significant for the field because it could make thyroid cancer diagnosis faster, more accurate and more objective,” Wong said.

“It offers a new way to improve diagnosis complimenting conventional cytology.”

Thyroid cancer is the most common cancer of the endocrine system and is the leading cancer among young adults aged 16 to 33, according to the National Institutes of Health.

“Unlike artificial intelligence black box approaches, this study used interpretable statistical modelling to identify biologically meaningful collagen signatures associated with thyroid cancer,” Wong said.

By providing clearer, more consistent information, the researchers said this new and less invasive procedure could be a valuable addition to traditional lab testing and help doctors make more accurate diagnoses.

The researchers hope to establish this method of biopsy and significantly reduce the need for invasive surgeries.

Future steps include validating the method in larger patient cohorts, expanding the technology to distinguish between other thyroid cancer subtypes.

Source: Houston Methodist