Raman spectroscopy identifies radiation response in human non-small cell lung cancer xenografts

External beam radiation therapy is a standard form of treatment for numerous cancers. Despite this, there are no approved methods to account for patient specific radiation sensitivity. In this report, Raman spectroscopy (RS) was used to identify radiation-induced biochemical changes in human non-small cell lung cancer xenografts. Chemometric analysis revealed unique radiation-related Raman signatures that were specific to nucleic acid, lipid, protein and carbohydrate spectral features. Among these changes was a dramatic shift in the accumulation of glycogen spectral bands for doses of 5 or 15 Gy when compared to unirradiated tumours. When spatial mapping was applied in this analysis there was considerable variability as we found substantial intra- and inter-tumour heterogeneity in the distribution of glycogen and other RS spectral features. Collectively, these data provide unique insight into the biochemical response of tumours, irradiated in vivo, and demonstrate the utility of RS for detecting distinct radiobiological responses in human tumour xenografts.