In the CRIMSON research project, a team of scientists from Italy, Germany, France and Great Britain is pursuing an ambitious goal that is extremely important for society as a whole: Thanks to innovative technologies, cancer diagnostics is to be elevated to a new level, and patients are to be given hope of significantly improved early detection. In this interview, Dr. Tobias Meyer-Zedler, head of the Molecular Imaging Group in the Spectroscopy and ­Imaging Research Department at Leibniz IPHT and subproject leader in CRIMSON, explains how novel research approaches can provide a promising future for the detection of cancer.

Cancer is considered one of the most widespread diseases of our time. Especially in the age group between 40 and 79, cancer with more than 30 percent is the most common cause of death.¹ Understanding the development of cancer at the cellular level and diagnosing the disease at an early stage, is therefore extremely important for the success of a therapy and the chances of recovery.

What diagnostic methods for detecting cancer cells do currently exist?

Current diagnostic procedures for cancer detection usually involve biopsies, in which tissue samples are taken from patients and subsequently evaluated histopathologically by pathologists. This examination can take up to several days until a reliable diagnostic finding is available. Therefore, it would be invaluable if a reliable assessment of cellular changes could be made during surgery, or if biopsies would not have to be performed at all, and the tissue could be examined non-invasively in vivo.

What is the research goal of the scientists in order to improve today’s diagnostics?

In the four-year EU project ­CRIMSON (Coherent Raman Imaging for the Molecular Study of the Origin of Diseases), which started in 2020, a new biophotonic imaging instrument is to be developed that will bring cancer diagnostics a major step forward. On the one hand, the system to be developed can significantly accelerate the assessment of pathologically altered tissue and support early diagnosis. On the other hand, it can be used to investigate the causes of disease at the cellular level in order to generate new approaches for customized therapy based on these findings.

What technological advances are expected to help achieve this goal?

It is planned to develop a microscopy technology based on coherent Raman microscopy, or more precisely molecular sensitive coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering microscopy (CARS). The sample to be investigated is irradiated by two laser pulses, which coherently excite characteristic molecular vibrations in the sample, whose signals are detected by the microscope. For this purpose, new compact laser sources for the realization of innovative hyperspectral CARS detection methods in combination with spectral analysis routines based on artificial intelligence are investigated in CRIMSON. The aim is to develop a hyperspectral CARS microscope for rapid cell and tissue classification with unprece­dented biochemical sensitivity.

What advantages will patients be able to benefit from in the future?

In the long term, the novel microscopic technology should be able to provide labelfree molecular images of subcellular compartments in living cells or organoids as well as tissues with biomolecular sensitivity. As cells evolve into malignant tissue, their unique molecular fingerprint changes. In some types of cancer, there is an increase in certain molecules. These changes can also be detected as ­molecular details in the CARS spectra. By providing an even more precise insight into cells, we are creating the technological prerequisites for an even better assessment of tumors and their aggressiveness.

Thanks to the high imaging speed that the microscope will offer, dynamic changes of and in cells will also become visible through time-lapse imaging. Such observable cell developments can give doctors indications of a possible cancer disease. An early targeted drug therapy could follow immediately.

The technological solution to be developed is intended both as a surgical microscope and as an endoscopic instrument. It offers the advantage, for example, of being able to detect conspicuous tissue directly during an endoscopic examination and immediately initiate further steps. During surgical removal of tumors, surgeons would be able to assess within a few minutes, directly in the operating room, whether the morbid tissue has been completely removed and no tumor cells remained in the body.

The European Commission is funding the project with more than five million Euros.

More information on the CRIMSON project: www.crimson-project.eu

¹ Cf. Statistisches Bundesamt (Destatis): World Cancer Day: record low of in-patient cancer treatments in 2021

In the picture:
A first broadband CARS setup was realized at Leibniz IPHT in 2022, which will help characterize cellular components and molecularly decipher cancer.
©Sven Döring