Detection of breast cancer using non-invasive X-ray diffraction technique of hair: A preliminary study

An early diagnosis of breast cancer relates directly to an accurate treatment plan and strategy. Early detection of breast cancer before its development would be a significant reduction of morbidity and mortality rates. The aim of this preliminary study is to investigate the sensitivity of Wide Angle X-ray diffraction (WAXRD) method on women hair samples of healthy and breast cancer patients in comparison with other modalities such as synchrotron based XRD beam and mammography.
Hair samples were taken from occipital region of skull from healthy and breast cancer patients (43 women) were analyzed using X-ray diffraction and the results were analyzed and compared with mammography and pathology reports.
The results of analyzed samples showed the sensitivity for purposed WAXRD method was 86% in comparison with synchrotron based XRD beam (64%) and also with mammography (70%).
This non-invasive method is less harmful and is more sensitive than the two other methods and help the physicians for choosing accurate treatment plan.