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Optical spectroscopic techniques based on tissues, cell lines and biofluids for the detection of cancer and various disorders are being extensively opted due to their high sensitivity, ease of procedure and sample preparation. Though the use of fluorescence in the field of oncology started as early as 1924 by Policard et al, the use of Native Fluorescence Spectroscopy (NFS) as a tool for cancer diagnosis and treatment monitoring, has shown significant progress only in the recent years, due to the advancements in the detection system and software. Even though an array of chemotherapeutic agents and sophisticated Radiotherapy techniques have evolved in the management of cancers, surgery is mostly opted as the first line of treatment in most of the breast cancer cases, in an approach to remove the bulk of tumour from the body. The goal of this study is to assess the efficacy of various treatment modalities, in this case surgery (modified radical mastectomy) and chemotherapy by comparing the NF spectra of breast cancer patients, post-surgery with those on completion of chemotherapy and normal subjects. In this pilot work, NF spectroscopy of blood plasma of clinically confirmed 43 breast cancer patients were measured under pre-treatment, post-surgical, post chemotherapy and also during yearly follow-up (after completion of the entire treatment) conditions. The NFS spectra of 60 normal subjects were also recorded for comparison. The results indicate that there is a statistical significance in the spectral variations in the region of collagen, elastin and NADH between the normal and cancer patient’s blood plasma as well as between pre and post treated cases as well as those patients on yearly follow-up after completion of the entire treatment.
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