Light patterns help identify early pancreatic cancer
Researchers reported Wednesday they could detect even early stage pancreatic cancer by shining light on a neighboring organ.
The findings could lead to the first method to detect this deadly form of cancer early enough to treat it, said study researcher Vadim Backman of Northwestern University. Pancreatic cancer is the fourth-leading cause of US cancer deaths. Because it is symptom free in its early stages, it is very difficult to detect before it has spread, and the five-year survival rate is 5 percent.
Researchers analyzed light patterns they reflected off part of the digestive tract next to the pancreas, they wrote in the journal Clinical Cancer Research.
They were able to distinguish nearly all of the 19 early and late-stage cancer patients from 32 healthy volunteers based on molecular changes revealed by light patterns.
REUTERS 