Technique May Allow Detection of Cancer in Earliest Stages

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have devised a novel method of detecting changes in the nucleus of cells in the earliest stages of cancer, a technique with the potential to revolutionize treatment of the disease. The new technique relies on the fact that cell nuclei change in the early stages of cancer and that the altered nuclei scatter light in a characteristic way.

The scientists reported in today’s Nature that they had tested their new technique in four different organs during routine endoscopic cancer screening. The tip of an optical probe was brought into contact with the tissue to be tested and the scattering of light was recorded without the need for any tissue to be removed, the scientists said.

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Compiled by Times medical writer Thomas H. Maugh II.