Epithelial cancer comprises more than 85%of human cancers.The detection and treatment at the early stage has been demonstrated to apparently improve patient survival.In this review,we summarize our recent research works on the diagnostic application of epithelial tissue based on multiphoton microscopy(MPM),including identification of the layered structures of esophagus,oral cavity,skin and bronchus tissues,establishment of the diagnostic features for distinguishing gastric normal tissue from cancerous tissue,linking collagen alteration and ectocervical epithelial tumor progression for evaluating epithelial tumor progression,and differentiating normal,inflammatory,and dysplastic ectocervical epithelial tissues.These results provide the groundwork for developing MPM into clinical multiphoton endoscopy.
Multiphoton microscopy(MPM),based on two-photon excited fuorescence and second harmonic generation,enables direct noninvasive visualization of tissue architecture and cell morphology in live tissues without the administration of exogenous contrast agents.In this paper,we used MPM to image the microstructures of the mucosa in fresh,unfixed,and unstained intestinal tissue of mouse.The morphology and distribution of the main components in mucosa layer such as columnar cells,goblet cells,intestinal glands,and a little collagen fibers were clearly observed in MPM images,and then compared with standard H&:E images from paired specimens.Our results indicate that MPM combined with endoscopy and miniaturization probes has the potential application in the clinical diagnosis and in vivo monitoring of early intestinal cancer.