US Pharm. 2018;43(5)(Specialty&Oncology suppl):16-18.
A new method for early and accurate breast cancer screening that uses commercially available technology has been developed by researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and Soroka University Medical Center, both in Israel. The researchers were able to isolate relevant data to more accurately identify breast cancer biomarkers using two different electronic nose gas sensors for breath, along with gas-chromatography mass spectrometry to quantify substances found in urine.
In their study published in Computers in Biology and Medicine, researchers detected breast cancer with more than 95% average accuracy using an inexpensive commercial electronic nose (e-nose) that identifies unique breath patterns in women with breast cancer. In addition, researchers’ revamped statistical analyses of urine samples submitted by both healthy patients and those diagnosed with breast cancer yielded 85% average accuracy.
“Breast cancer survival is strongly tied to the sensitivity of tumor detection; accurate methods for detecting smaller, earlier tumors remains a priority,” says Dr. Yehuda Zeiri, a member of Ben-Gurion University’s Department of Biomedical Engineering. “Our new approach utilizing urine and exhaled breath samples, analyzed with inexpensive, commercially available processes, is non-invasive, accessible and may be easily implemented in a variety of settings.”
The study reports that breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed malignancy among females and is the leading cause of death around the world. In 2016, breast cancer accounted for 29% of all new cancers identified in the United States.
