Photonics Detection of Molecular-Specific Spatial Structural Alterations of Cells due to Chronic Alcoholism and Probiotics Treatments in Colon Cancer.

Photonics/light localization techniques are essential in understanding the structural changes in biological cells/tissues at the nano- to sub-micron scale. It is now known that structural alterations begin at the nanoscale, marking the onset of cancer progression. This photonics study examines the molecular-specific nano-structural alterations of chronic alcoholism and probiotic effects on colon cancer using a mouse model of colon cancer. We assessed alcohol-treated and azoxymethane (AOM) with dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis models, including ethanol (EtOH) and probiotic (L.casei) treatments separately and together. The confocal images were analyzed using the mesoscopic physics-based Inverse Participation Ratio (IPR) technique to quantify structural alterations at nano- to submicron scales. Significant enhancement of cancer progression was observed in the EtOH-treated group, and probiotic treatment with EtOH showed substantial reversal of these changes in colon cancer, underscoring the potential of the IPR technique in detecting and monitoring cancer progression.