Introduction
cancer, precancerous lesions, inflammation
PRECANCEROUS LESIONS, VASCULARIZATION, CANCER, DYSPLASTIC, DISEASE, INFLAMMATION, CERVICAL CANCER, CERVICAL INTRAEPITHELIAL NEOPLASIA (CIN), SEVERE DYSPLASIA
Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) refers to a spectrum of serious precancerous lesions and is classified into three grades based on the extent and severity of cellular and architectural abnormalities. Whereas CIN1 represents mild dysplastic lesions, CIN2 and CIN3 indicate moderate to severe dysplasia. Cervical cancer still is the fourth most common cancer among women worldwide (270,000 deaths/year) and is associated with severe lifelong physical and emotional burdens due to both the disease and radical therapy [The colposcopic examination and visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) pose significant challenges and are heavily reliant on the clinical expertise of the examiner. Moreover, access to qualified colposcopy departments remains limited, even in industrialized nations. This issue is further exacerbated in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where patients with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) lesions rarely have access to skilled colposcopists. Several studies in the literature have reported a wide range of false-negative rates for VIA, ranging from 13 to 69% [In recent years, there have been extensive efforts to apply hyperspectral imaging (HSI) technology in different areas of health care, including tissue differentiation, blood perfusion, wound vascularization and inflammation [The objective of this prospective, monocentric proof-of-principle study was to assess the suitability of the TIVITA