Laser Process May Emerge as Better Way of Detecting Breast Cancer

Researchers at Johns Hopkins believe a laser-based screening tool may become the earliest and best way to detect and monitor breast cancer.

Using surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (SELDI), investigators are attempting to determine whether the method is practical and effective for identifying potential biomarkers of early stage breast cancer.

SELDI is a chip-based molecular imaging process that can be compared to the process used to develop film. The small biochips of the SELDI are like the silicon wafers used to make computer chips, but their surface is coated with a layer of molecular "bait" designed to capture biomolecules such as DNA or proteins. The chips are exposed to the biomaterial to be imaged. The image is developed in a way that enhances the visibility of the captured molecules. The biochips are then "read" with pulses of laser energy to generate a digital image of the captured molecule.

Advocates of SELDI technology believe that the process offers the earliest possible detection of breast cancer's onset; the ability to accurately determine the type of breast cancer present and the level of the cancer's progression; and the ability to routinely monitor how a patient is responding to a chosen therapy.

The authors believe that the high sensitivity and specificity achieved in their study is evidence that SELDI could lead to the discovery of additional biomarkers that would indicate early stage breast carcinoma, and that this technology could fill a gap that now exists in breast cancer prevention.

Other sources: American Association for Clinical Chemistry