BACKGROUND: Squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck is characterized by local invasiveness and metastases to regional lymph nodes. In 60% of cases, these tumours are dia-gnosed at an advanced stage, and the prognosis is unfavorable. One of the important factors of local, hematogenous or lymphogenic spread of the tumour in the human body is tumour cells migration ability. Advanced microscopic methods provide a new perspective on cell migration. PURPOSE: This paper presents a coherence controlled holographic microscopy method that provides a non-invasive quantitative evaluation of morphological and dynamic properties of living tumour cells. In connection with this method, new potential bio-markers are emerging, the significance of which, however, needs to be verified by correlation with clinical data.

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