Field Effect Detection by Light Scattering in the Breast Cancer Risk Determination

Breast cancer is one of the most common causes of death in women worldwide; however, early detection could mitigate theassociated number of deaths, where new screening techniques applicable to the entire risk population are the key to achievingthis goal. By identifying the risk population, it is easier to plan cancer prevention programs and contribute to reducing thenumber of deaths from breast cancer; however, despite new promising technologies for early cancer detection, there arefew proposals available to achieve massively applicable techniques to screen the entire breast cancer risk population. Wepresent a proof-of-concept for screening breast cancer using a noninvasive and potentially low-cost technique that detects thecancerization field effect by spectral analysis (FEDSA) using near-infrared backscattered light. To test the concept of FEDSA todetect cancer, we performed FEDSA measurements in 24 women divided into two groups, the first group of 17 normal womenand the second group of seven women with previously detected abnormalities in the breast; we identified significant differencesin the FEDSA spectra of both groups, suggesting the potential of FEDSA as a promising screening technique for the earlydetection of breast cancer.