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By Meghan Yost, Ivanhoe Health Correspondent
ORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- A novel laser device could help prevent breast cancer from spreading to other parts of the body by detecting cancer cells before they form into tumors.
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Researchers are using tiny particles of gold -- nanoparticles -- to mark circulating breast cancer cells in a blood sample. When a laser beam is directed at the blood sample, the cells marked with a nanoparticle generate a photoacoustic response -- high frequency ultrasonic waves -- that can be detected with sensors. The white blood cells surrounding the cancer cells generate no response from the laser.
Researchers have previously used the device to successfully detect single circulating melanoma skin cancer cells. To detect the presence of breast cancer cells, they currently need clusters of 50 cells; however, this is a huge advantage over current cancer detection methods, says John A. Viator, Ph.D., lead researcher and an assistant professor of biological engineering and dermatology at the University of Missouri in Columbia in Columbia.
Instead of waiting for tumors to develop, the researchers are looking for cancerous cells months in advance. Using standard imaging like CT or MRI, a tumor needs to be several millimeters in diameter -- a billion cells -- before it will show up on a scan, Dr. Viator told Ivanhoe. [A tumor that size] would take six months or a year to develop.
The team plans to start an animal study of the laser device this spring. We anticipate beginning breast cancer trials in 2009 and, if all goes well, introducing a diagnostic tool in the next four to six years, Dr. Viator said.
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SOURCE: Ivanhoe interview with John A. Viator, Ph.D. and The 28th Annual Conference of the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery (ASLMS), Kissimmee, Fla., April 2 - 6, 2008
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.
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