Application of a Photothermal Microscope To Study the Process of Cutaneous Lesion Formation of Malignant Melanoma

In this study, we applied a photothermal microscope to study the process of malignant melanoma formation. We analyzed benign papilloma tumors, their metastatic carcinomas, and metastatic melanoma on the preparation of mouse skin using a gray-level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) method. Based on the analysis of nine GLCM parameters investigated, the characteristics during the degenerative and metastatic processes are clarified by the investigation. The determination of characteristic parameters corresponding to three processes before, during, and after the degeneration indicated that this investigation enables the detection of the malignant transformation and related processes.