EXPLORING IN VIVO TEMPERATURE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN COLONIC POLYPS AND HEALTHY TISSUE: A NOVEL DIAGNOSTIC TOOL FOR POLYP DETECTION AND DIAGNOSIS

Mustafa A. Arain; Deepanshu Jain; Natalie Cosgrove; Maham Hayat; Saurabh Chandan; Abdullah Abbasi; Sagar J. Pathak; Kambiz S. Kadkhodayan; Dennis Yang; Muhammad K. Hasan

doi:10.1016/j.gie.2025.03.885

Background Advancements in sensor technology and machine learning have the potential to transform medicine, particularly in early detection and assessment of pre-malignant and cancerous lesions. In other medical fields researchers have explored the relationship between cancer and tissue temperature, suggesting that temperature variations in cancerous tissue compared to healthy tissue may provide a more effective method for cancer detection, staging, and monitoring. However, to date, these concepts have not been investigated in the context of colorectal lesions. Methods A single-center, prospective, observational exploratory study was conducted to evaluate the surface temperature of colonic polyps and adjacent healthy tissue prior to resection, and to correlate these findings with the corresponding histopathological results. Following institutional review board (IRB) approval, 55 patients scheduled for colonoscopy with polypectomy were prospectively enrolled. Tissue surface temperature measurements were obtained at 3 distinct locations: healthy mucosa adjacent to the polyp (control site 1), polyp surface, and healthy mucosa near the polyp (control site 2). Readings were recorded using a custom-designed software tool. Data collection included size, morphology, and anatomical location of each polyp, with procedural videos archived for subsequent analysis. Post-procedure, temperature differentials (ΔT) between the polyp and the control sites were calculated. These ΔT values were correlated with histopathological findings of the resected polyps to assess potential associations between temperature variations and polyp histology. Results Between April and August 2024, a total of 70 temperature measurement groupings were obtained from 55 patients referred to our tertiary care center for advanced colonic polyp evaluation and resection. Histopathological analysis of the 70 specimens showed that 99% (69/70) were either benign, pre-cancerous, or cancerous. These included hyperplastic, adenomas and sessile serrated lesions. Two specimens were found to be adenocarcinomas. Upon data review, 13 groupings were excluded due to inadequate video confirmation of proper probe-tissue contact or insufficient contact duration to ensure valid temperature recordings. Of the remaining 57 groupings, 94.8% demonstrated a statistically significant temperature differential (ΔT) between the polyp and control tissue readings (Figure 1). There were no adverse events related to temperature measurements. Conclusions The observed correlation between colonic polyp surface temperature and histopathology is encouraging and merits further investigation. Real-time temperature assessment holds significant potential as an adjunctive diagnostic tool, offering additional insights during endoscopic evaluation and potentially enhancing the detection and characterization of neoplastic lesions.

EXPLORING IN VIVO TEMPERATURE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN COLONIC POLYPS AND HEALTHY TISSUE: A NOVEL DIAGNOSTIC TOOL FOR POLYP DETECTION AND DIAGNOSIS

View Online

Abstract

Details

Metrics