Application of Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) technology in malignant tumor diagnosis

Sep 22, 2026

Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) is a rapid analytical method based on atomic emission spectroscopy, offering strong diagnostic potential in biomedicine. This review summarizes LIBS principles, methodological progress, clinical uses, and key challenges for malignant tumor detection. By exploiting differences in elemental composition between normal and cancerous tissues, LIBS supports early detection, surgical margin mapping, and treatment monitoring. It also evaluates combining LIBS with other diagnostics and outlines future directions in translational medicine.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages13

Reading Time33 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Core diagnostic needs and limitations of conventional pathology

LIBS principles and analytical advantages

Clinical applications and validation perspectives

Technical optimization and experimental design strategies

Multi-element analysis and data processing approaches

Chen et al. Discover Oncology (2026) 17:542 [https://doi.org/10.1007/s12672-026-04669-y](https://doi.org/10.1007/s12672-026-04669-y) Discover Oncology REVIEW Open Access Application of Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) technology in malignant tumor diagnosis Jie Chen1, Pengren Luo1, Shiqiang Wang1 and Haifeng Yang1* *Correspondence: Haifeng Yang [yanghaifeng@cqu.edu.cn](yanghaifeng@cqu.edu.cn)[ ](yanghaifeng@cqu.edu.cn)1Department of Neuro-Oncology, Chongqing University Cancer Hospital, No. 181, Hanyu Road, Shapingba District, Chongqing, China Abstract Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) represents a rapid analytical technique grounded in atomic emission spectroscopy, which has revealed considerable diagnostic capabilities within the biomedical sector in recent years. This review presents a comprehensive overview of the underlying principles, methodological advancements, clinical applications, and existing challenges related to LIBS technology in the detection of malignant tumors. By examining the disparities in elemental composition between tissue samples, LIBS proficiently distinguishes normal tissue from cancerous tissue, thereby providing valuable insights for the early detection of tumors, margin delineation, and treatment monitoring. The article further investigates the potential of amalgamating LIBS with other diagnostic modalities and deliberates on the future trajectories of this technology in translational medicine. Keywords Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy, Malignant tumor diagnosis, Elemental analysis, Spectral imaging, Molecular pathology 1 Introduction Timely and precise diagnosis of malignant tumors is essential for enhancing patient survival rates. Conventional pathological methods predominantly rely on morphological assessments, which can be time-intensive and subjective, resulting in possible misdiagnoses. In contrast, Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) presents an innovative methodology by identifying elemental spectral lines within tissues, thus delivering quantitative biochemical data that addresses the shortcomings of traditional diagnostic approaches. LIBS is noted for its straightforward sample preparation, rapid detection capabilities (within milliseconds), and the capacity to conduct simultaneous multi-element analyses. These advantages have fostered noteworthy advancements in the diagnosis of various cancers, such as gastric cancer, breast cancer, and gliomas in recent years. This review systematically examines the technical principles of LIBS, optimization strategies for experimental design, clinical validation data, and the intrinsic limitations of the © The Author(s) 2026. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit [http://creativecommons.org/l](http://creativecommons.org/l)icenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. Chen et al. Discover Oncology (2026) 17:542 Page 2 of 13 technology, thereby establishing a theoretical groundwork for its clinical application [1, 2]. One of the principal advantages of LIBS lies in its capability to simultaneousl

FAQs

What is LIBS and how does it support malignant tumor diagnosis?

LIBS is a rapid technique that generates atomic emission spectra from tissue, enabling detection of elemental spectral lines. Differences in elemental composition between normal and cancerous tissues can help distinguish malignancy and support diagnostic tasks such as early detection and margin delineation.

What advantages does LIBS offer compared with conventional pathological methods?

The review highlights straightforward sample preparation, very fast detection (within milliseconds), and the ability to perform simultaneous multi-element analysis. These features aim to reduce time and subjectivity associated with morphology-based pathology.

What challenges limit the clinical adoption of LIBS in oncology?

The document notes issues such as sample desiccation and the coffee-ring effect, which can affect spectral signal stability and lead to detection inaccuracies. It also emphasizes the need for robust calibration, standardized procedures, and further clinical investigation.

Sep 22, 2026

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