Transparency-enhancing technology allows the three-dimensional assessment of esophageal carcinoma obtained by endoscopic submucosal dissection

Although much progress has been made in diagnosis of carcinomas, no established methods have been confirmed to elucidate their morphological features.

Three-dimensional structure of esophageal carcinomas was assessed using transparency-enhancing technology. Endoscopically resected esophageal squamous cell carcinoma was fluorescently stained, optically cleared using a transparency-enhancing reagent called LUCID, and visualized using laser scanning microscopy. The resulting microscope images were converted to virtual HE images for observation using ImageJ software.

Microscopic observation and image editing enabled three-dimensional image reconstruction and conversion to virtual HE images. The structure of abnormal blood vessels in esophageal carcinoma recognized by endoscopy could be observed in the 3 dimensions. Squamous cell carcinoma and normal squamous epithelium could be distinguished in the virtual HE images.

The results suggested that transparency-enhancing technology and virtual HE images may be feasible for clinical application and represent a novel histopathological method for evaluating endoscopically resected specimens.