Study of Two Photon Fluorescence Microscopy to Check Surgical Margins in Basal Cell Carcinoma Removal

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are studying basal cell carcinoma, a type of skin cancer, to evaluate the use of two photon fluorescence microscopy TPFM in detecting residual cancer during standard local excision surgery. The goal is to compare TPFM imaging results with the current standard method of examining surgical margins using permanent tissue sections to confirm if cancer has been fully removed. The study involves imaging excised tissue samples with TPFM to measure the distance from the tumor to the nearest inked surgical margin. After TPFM imaging, the tissue will undergo the usual histological processing with paraffin embedding and slide scanning for margin assessment. Researchers will compare the measurements from the TPFM images to the standard permanent section results to determine how well the new imaging method agrees with conventional pathology. Participants will have their excised tissue imaged with TPFM before it is processed with the standard histology methods. Researchers will collect and analyze data on the agreement between TPFM and permanent sections regarding margin distance and margin status. The primary outcome measure is the quantitative agreement between margin distances measured by TPFM and conventional histology, typically assessed 2 to 4 weeks after surgery. This study does not involve any masking or randomization and will monitor the accuracy of TPFM imaging in this clinical context.

Investigation of Standard Excision Surgical Margins Using Two Photon Fluorescence Microscopy