PhD Scientific Days 2026

Poster Session 2.E - Pathological and Oncological Sciences

Polarization-Dependent SHG Analysis of Collagen Structure for Tumor Border Assessment in Basal Cell Carcinoma

Előadó neve

Ms. Kubacska, Renáta

Neptune code

BQR9U7

Előadó munkahelye

Department of Dermatology, Venereology and Dermatooncology, Semmelweis University Doctoral School

Előadó telefonszáma

+36302692681

Előadó e-mail címe

kubacska.renata@phd.semmelweis.hu

Az előadás címe

Polarization-Dependent SHG Analysis of Collagen Structure for Tumor Border Assessment in Basal Cell Carcinoma

Szerző(k) neve és munkahelye

Renáta Kubacska^1,2, Dániel Rózsa², Dr. Róbert Szipőcs²

1: Department of Dermatology, Venereology and Dermatooncology, Semmelweis University Doctoral School
2: HUN-REN Wigner Research Centre for Physics

Bemutatás módja

Poszter

Szekció

Poster Session 2.E - Pathological and Oncological Sciences

Language of the presentation

Hungarian

Preferred session

Pathological and Oncological Sciences

Összefoglaló szövege

Introduction
Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCC) is the most common malignant skin neoplasm in Caucasians. Its poorly defined tumor margins reduce the reliability of conventional imaging, making margin assessment a persistent clinical challenge. Second harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy is a label-free nonlinear optical technique sensitive to fibrillar collagen orientation, and therefore it could be well-suited for quantitative tumor border assessment.

Aims
To investigate the polarization-dependent SHG response of BCC collagen in the tumor environment and at the tumor border, and to assess whether pixel-resolved orientation heatmaps can improve tumor margin delineation compared to FFT (Fast Fourier Transformation) based methods.

Method
SHG measurements were performed on BCC tissue sections with excitation polarization rotated in a 180 degree range by rotating a /2 waveplate from 255 to 345 degrees in 5-degree increments (19 images per mosaic). Two regions were examined: a homogeneous central area (3×3 mosaic) and an inhomogeneous tumor border region (8×5 mosaic). Five ROIs per mosaic were evaluated and the dominant SHG intensity maximum per ROI was identified. Then pixel-by-pixel analysis can be applied: a dominant orientation value is assigned to each pixel from its SHG intensity curve and can be visualized as a color-coded orientation heatmap.

Result
In the external tumor area, all five ROIs showed well-defined single SHG maxima in the narrow 290–295 polarisation degree range, consistent with parallel, well-aligned collagen fibers. At the tumor border, ROIs showed shifted maxima (330–335 degrees) or dual maximums (e.g. 285 and 335 degrees), consistent with a multi-directional collagen arrangement. The dominant fiber orientations of the two regions differed by approximately 40 degrees.

Conclusion
Polarization-dependent SHG imaging revealed spatial heterogeneity in collagen fiber alignment in BCC, consistent with patterns previously identified by FFT-based methods. Unlike FFT-based methods, where unit-cell subdivision limits spatial detail, pixel-resolved orientation heatmaps can preserve full resolution and provide more detailed structural maps. These results support P-SHG microscopy as a quantitative tool for BCC border assessment.

Funding
Supported by the EKÖP-KDP fellowship programme.

University

Semmelweis University

Supervisor

Dr. Norbert Kiss, Dr. Róbert Szipőcs

Publication of my abstract

I give consent to the publication of my abstract on the website of the congress.

phd.section.field

before finishing undergraduate studies (TDK, MD-PhD)

Kind

Szabad

Status

elfogadva

Accepted presentation method

poszter

Előadás fájl jóváhagyás

nem rendelkezett róla

Előadó

9804

Start

19:00

End

19:03