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Advance for pancreatic cancer
02 August 2007 15:09:30
The team from Northwestern University and Evanston-Northwestern Healthcare have devised a light-scattering technique, whereby the first evidence of the effects of the disease can be observed.
An 'optic fingerprint' of the cancer's effect on small intestine tissue is produced, allowing quicker detection of the notoriously difficult-to-diagnose disease.
The study was based on the so-called 'field effect' theory, which hypothesises that cancer, even at its earliest stages, can cause minute changes across an entire organ.
Once the altered intestinal tissue was detected, it was removed, reducing the risk of potentially fatal pancreatic inflammation.
Vadim Backman, co-author of the research, said that the findings were hugely important.
"We are excited about this technology because it enables sensing subtle changes in tissue that otherwise are undetectable by conventional microscopic examination," he said.
"For pancreatic cancer it's not only critical to detect it early, or even before it becomes cancerous, but in many cases it is really the only hope."
Pancreatic cancer is the tenth most common cancer in Britain, according to Cancer Research UK.
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