We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress
Sign In
Advertise with Us
GLOBETECH PUBLISHING LLC

Download Mobile App




New Imaging Technology Shows Little Discrepancy Between Breast Cancer, Healthy Tissues

By MedImaging International staff writers
Posted on 30 Sep 2014
Print article
A new application has been effectively evaluated that will help surgeons better differentiate cancerous breast tissue from normal tissue, thereby decreasing the likelihood for repeat operations. The tool, called DESI (desorption electrospray ionization) mass spectrometry imaging, works by converting molecules into electrically charged versions of themselves, called ions, so that they can be identified by their mass.

Up to 40% of patients undergoing breast cancer surgery require additional operations because surgeons may fail to remove all the cancerous tissue in the initial operation. However, researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH; Boston, MA, USA) published the findings from their study online September 22, 2014, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS). By studying the mass of the ions, the contents of a tissue sample can then be identified. The tool sprays a microscopic stream of charged solvent onto the tissue surface to gather information about its molecular makeup and produces a color-coded image revealing the nature and concentration of tumor cells.

In this particular case, the researchers used DESI mass spectrometry imaging to look at the distribution and amounts of fatty acid substances, called lipids, within breast tissue and normal tissue from 61 samples obtained from 14 breast cancer patients that underwent mastectomy. A software program was used to characterize the breast cancer tumors and detect boundaries between healthy and cancerous tissue.

The researchers discovered that several fatty acids, such as oleic acid, were more abundant in breast cancer tissue compared to normal tissue. The findings were also confirmed using traditional pathology methods to assess for accuracy. “Our findings demonstrate the feasibility of classifying cancerous and normal breast tissues using DESI mass spectrometry imaging,” said Nathalie Agar, PhD, director of the surgical molecular imaging laboratory, BWH departments of neurosurgery and radiology, senior study author. “The results may help us to move forward in improving this method so that surgeons can use it to rapidly detect residual cancer tissue during breast cancer surgery, hopefully decreasing the need for multiple operations.”

Related Links:

Brigham and Women’s Hospital


Gold Member
Solid State Kv/Dose Multi-Sensor
AGMS-DM+
New
Silver Member
Mobile X-Ray Barrier
Lead Acrylic Mobile X-Ray Barriers
Advanced Cardiac MRI Analysis Software
3Di Cardiac MR
New
PACS Workstation
CHILI Web Viewer

Print article

Channels

Ultrasound

view channel
Image: Structure of the proposed transparent ultrasound transducer and its optical transmittance (Photo courtesy of POSTECH)

Ultrasensitive Broadband Transparent Ultrasound Transducer Enhances Medical Diagnosis

The ultrasound-photoacoustic dual-modal imaging system combines molecular imaging contrast with ultrasound imaging. It can display molecular and structural details inside the body in real time without... Read more

Nuclear Medicine

view channel
Image: PET/CT of a 60-year-old male patient with clinical suspicion of lung cancer (Photo courtesy of EJNMMI Physics)

Early 30-Minute Dynamic FDG-PET Acquisition Could Halve Lung Scan Times

F-18 FDG-PET scans are a way to look inside the body using a special dye, and these scans can be either static or dynamic. Static scans happen 60 minutes after the dye is administered into the body, showing... Read more

Imaging IT

view channel
Image: The new Medical Imaging Suite makes healthcare imaging data more accessible, interoperable and useful (Photo courtesy of Google Cloud)

New Google Cloud Medical Imaging Suite Makes Imaging Healthcare Data More Accessible

Medical imaging is a critical tool used to diagnose patients, and there are billions of medical images scanned globally each year. Imaging data accounts for about 90% of all healthcare data1 and, until... Read more

Industry News

view channel
Image: The acquisition will expand IBA’s medical imaging quality assurance offering (Photo courtesy of Radcal)

IBA Acquires Radcal to Expand Medical Imaging Quality Assurance Offering

Ion Beam Applications S.A. (IBA, Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium), the global leader in particle accelerator technology and a world-leading provider of dosimetry and quality assurance (QA) solutions, has entered... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2024 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.