Simple screen for breast cancer with no radiation

Scientists in Canada have developed a new and simple method of screening for breast cancer that could be coming to the market in the near future. 

Omar Ramahi, a professor of electrical and computer engineering, and his team at the University of Waterloo in Ontario have created a prototype that uses microwaves and artificial intelligence to detect abnormalities in the breast within minutes.

Prof Ramahi hopes the device will allow women to screen for breast cancer regularly and detect it sooner. The screening process is simple: A woman lays face down in what looks like a massage bed with a section near the middle cut out. A sensor underneath then scans each breast separately and within a few minutes the results are known. Green means everything is okay. Red means it detected an abnormality, he explained. From there, the patient can be referred for further tests. The prototype is also less harmful than traditional ways of breast cancer screening as it eliminates exposure to radiation. Clinical trials will commence later this year.

MRI tool diagnose difficult cases of ovarian cancer

Researchers have developed a new MRI tool that can identify cases of ovarian cancer which are difficult to diagnose using standard methods. The tool has produced encouraging results in a clinical study and its impact on management and outcomes of women with ovarian cancer will now be evaluated in a major trial at 18 hospitals in the UK.

The tool called Ovarian-Adnexal Reporting Data System Magnetic Resonance Imaging (O-RADS MRI) is able to distinguish between malignant and benign ovarian cysts with 90% accuracy, in cases that cannot be distinguished on ultrasound. It was developed by researchers led by Prof Isabelle Thomassin-Naggara at the APHP-Sorbonne Université, with Prof Andrea Rockall at Imperial College London.

Currently, to investigate potential cases of ovarian cancer doctors use ultrasound scanning and blood tests. However, in a quarter of cases these methods cannot identify with confidence whether a patient’s cyst is benign or malignant. This leads to surgical investigations, which are invasive and carry risks, such as potential loss of fertility. In most cases women are then diagnosed as having benign cysts. The team believes that the new tool can be used as a triage test to decide whether patients need further follow-up or treatment. They also believe that the findings from the study, published recently in the JAMA Network Open, could help stratify patients who are high risk so they can be given treatment at a much earlier stage.

‘How Long Do I Have?’ New online tool 

Patients with cancer often want to know ‘How long do I have?’ Now they can take a look themselves at a newly launched and free online prognosis tool, CancerSurvivalRates.com. It provides patients with a simple tool that can be customised according to their cancer type and specific characteristics such as grade and stage, as well as individual characteristics such as their age and gender.

Program maps blood flow ‘landscape’ in tumours

Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers have created a computer program for scientists at no charge that lets users readily quantify the structural and functional changes in the blood flow networks feeding tumours.The researchers published a link to download the new program, called HemoSYS, and an accompanying manual with instructions on how to use it in Scientific Reports on February 11, 2020.

Studying the architecture of blood vessels and their flow dynamics in tumours could provide insights into cancer progression and metastasis. This approach could accelerate development of new therapies that target a tumour’s blood vessels in order to limit its supply of nutrients and oxygen. HemoSYS could also lead to more effective delivery of already available drugs by mapping blood flow fluctuations in the vessels feeding the tumour.

Early detection with portable ‘electronic nose’

A portable ‘electronic nose’ can accurately pick up the precursor condition to oesophageal cancer, Barrett’s oesophagus, according to a proof of principle study, published online in the journal Gut. This inexpensive and non-invasive technique may be a promising test for diagnosing oesophageal cancer in primary care, the researchers said.

The number of new cases of this cancer has risen six-fold over the past few decades, with most cases being diagnosed when the disease is already advanced and difficult to treat.

While endoscopy and biopsy is the mainstay diagnostic tool for Barrett’s oesophagus, scientists have been exploring less invasive and cheaper options, including analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) – gaseous compounds produced by metabolic processes in the body, including inflammation and abnormal cellular activity, which can be detected in a person’s breath.

In this new study, 402 adults scheduled for endoscopy breathed into a highly sensitive electronic nose, designed to detect subtle differences in VOC patterns, for five minutes. Of this group, 129 patients had Barrett’s oesophagus; 141 had acid reflux disease, and 132 had a normal oesophagus or hiatus hernia that accounted for their symptoms. The sensitivity of the device was 91%.

“The findings of our study provide evidence that patients with [Barrett’s oesophagus] have VOC breath prints different from those without,” the study authors stated.

While it’s still not clear exactly how breath VOCs indicate cancerous cell changes, the sensitivity and specificity of VOC breath testing for Barrett’s oesophagus is comparable to that of breast cancer and bowel cancer screening, they explained. Further research will be required to validate these findings in a much larger study.