We developed and applied rapid scanning
laser-emission microscopy (LEM) to detect abnormal changes in cell nuclei for early diagnosis of
cancer and
cancer precursors. Regulation of
chromatins is essential for genetic development and normal cell functions, while abnormal nuclear changes may lead to many diseases, in particular,
cancer. The capability to detect abnormal changes in "apparently normal" tissues at a stage earlier than
tumor development is critical for
cancer prevention. Here we report using LEM to analyze colonic tissues from mice at-risk for
colon cancer (induced by a high-fat diet) by detecting pre-
polyp nuclear abnormality. By imaging the lasing emissions from
chromatins, we discovered that, despite the absence of observable lesions,
polyps, or
tumors under stereoscope, high-fat mice exhibited significantly lower lasing thresholds than low-fat mice. The low lasing threshold is, in fact, very similar to that of
adenomas and is caused by abnormal cell proliferation and
chromatin deregulation that can potentially lead to
cancer. Our findings suggest that conventional detection methods, such as colonoscopy followed by histopathology, by itself, may be insufficient to reveal hidden or early
tumors under development. We envision that this innovative work will provide new insights into LEM and support existing tools for early
tumor detection in clinical diagnosis, and fundamental biological and biomedical research of
chromatin changes at the biomolecular level of
cancer development.