Observational StudyQuantitative Optical Sensor Findings in Head & Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

The goal of this study is to determine the optical spectroscopy characteristics of tumor in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). HNSCC constitutes over 90% of all head and neck cancers. These spectroscopy measurements will be compared with pathological diagnosis of tissue biopsies from the same site. These readings will be performed in the operating room during routine endoscopy with biopsy and tumor mapping of patients who have a suspected squamous cell carcinoma of the head and/or neck. Furthermore, a built in pressure sensor will be used to compare biopsy sites with their benign counterparts. If successful, the optical measurements could be used to survey for and delineate the extent of malignancies in a noninvasive manner. This would be especially helpful for clinic visits where suspicious lesions are seen and would otherwise require biopsy for diagnosis. Immediate benefits would include patients with unknown primaries in which numerous directed biopsies are obtained from multiple head and neck sites.