Techniques in infrared microspectroscopy and advanced computational methods for colon cancer diagnosis

Early diagnosis of cancer continues to be a major challenge in the field of cancer prevention and management as it can decrease the severity and also improve the life of patients. Rapid progress in the past few decades in molecular- and immunological-based methods has helped to alleviate the problem to a certain extent. However, a rapid, reagent free method to identify cancers in situ or ex vivo, to make screening objective and swift still remains unachieved. At this point, the utilization of methods based on IR spectroscopy is expected to provide the breakthrough and make diagnosis and grading of cancers/malignancies a simple and inexpensive affair. In the present chapter, we deal with the utilization of FTIR-microspectroscopy for the diagnosis of colon cancer, which is a preliminary step towards its implications for future oncology. We highlight a few technological aspects and also the enormous potential of IR spectroscopy in colon cancer specifically, and other cancers in general.