Penile Cancer: Innovations in Ultrastructural and Vibrational Markers

Abstract

Penile cancer, although uncommon on a global scale, predominantly arises from squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs). Its occurrence is notably higher in low- and middle-income countries, highlighting the geographic and socioeconomic disparities in the prevalence of this disease. The diversity and significant public health impact of penile cancer underscores the need for new approaches. Nanotechnology, especially through Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), is promising for studying the nanoscale properties of penile tumor tissues and cells. AFM provides high-resolution topographic images, allowing you to examine the ultrastructural features of cancerous cells and tissues in detail. This helps better understand tumor biomechanics, cell adhesion, morphology, and tumor microenvironment. Raman Spectroscopy (RS) is a powerful technique that detects and analyzes cellular or tissue samples based on morphological characteristics. It scatters photons by molecules polarized by a laser beam, generating a spectral image that reflects the cell's or tissue's chemical composition. This technique can identify changes in the components of cells and tissues, indicative of the presence or progression of the disease. This study proposes to apply RS to investigate the vibrational properties of penile tumor cells and tissues compared with non-tumor counterparts. In this study, through the use of AFM and RS, samples of the subtypes of penile cancer, basaloid and sarcomatoid, as well as non-tumor samples, were analyzed to apply a physical approach to investigate the ultrastructural and vibrational morphology of penile cancer, taking as main tools AFM and RS, providing new information about its nanoscale ultrastructure and offering a new understanding of cancer behavior beyond its molecular composition.