Researchers at Sheffield Hallam University in England are studying replacing mammography, an expensive and painful examination, with fingerprint analysis in patients suspected of having breast cancer. The new technology promises to dramatically increase the number of tests performed and the number of lives saved by early diagnosis.
Breast cancer screening laboratory (Image: Thinkstock/Veja)
From criminal investigations to breast cancer diagnosis
Fingerprints are widely used in forensic investigations, because they allow us to establish a profile of a suspect, potentially incriminating him (or decriminalizing him) through information collected about his lifestyle.
Identification is determined by analyzing the molecular composition of sweat found in fingerprints, and examination is done using mass spectrometry, a system that measures the atomic weight of molecules and particles.
Simona Francis, Professor of Forensic Mass Spectrometry and Bioanalysis at Sheffield Hallam University, explains how the discovery came about.
“Most of my research has been in forensic science for about 15 years, but a few years ago I discovered the possibility of moving from forensic to medical diagnosis using race.“.
Discover the new way in England
By profiling alleged criminals, Frances realized that the same procedure could be used to identify cancerous signs.
“Sweat contains many different molecules, but what we are interested in are proteins […] These proteins and the different expression levels and different expression factors of these proteins tell us whether a patient has benign disease, whether they have early-stage cancer or whether it is metastatic cancer. We use artificial intelligence to understand this mass spectrometry data“says Francis.
According to Dr. Jim Langridge, a scientific member of Waters' company, fingerprint stains can identify cancerous samples by differentiation.
A woman holds the Pink October symbol, Breast Cancer Month (Photo: Reproduction/Angiola Harry/Unsplash)
The hope is that in the future it will be possible to detect breast cancer simply by analyzing a fingerprint, a non-invasive procedure that replaces mammography, a painful examination that requires patients to go to specialized centers whose consultations require at least 20 minutes.
Simona Francis states that mammography and biopsy are currently the only two tests capable of identifying breast cancer and ends by saying: “I will continue to encourage women to have these tests because they still save lives“.
Featured Image: Fingerprints, used in forensic investigations, could help fight cancer (Reproduction/Imago Images/Scientific Image Library)
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