Taking a Quick Swipe at Cancer

[Guest guest]

http://www.wired.com/news/medtech/0,1286,59434,00.html

 

Taking a Quick Swipe at Cancer Taking a Quick Swipe at Cancer By Louise Knapp

 

 

Story location: http://www.wired.com/news/medtech/0,1286,59434,00.html

 

02:00 AM Jul. 05, 2003 PT

 

A new handheld scanner may mean patients being screened for cancer will no

longer have to cram into the narrow tunnel of an MRI or CT scanner for a

grueling 40-minute exam -- the patient won't even need to undress.

 

The doctor will simply swipe a 30-centimeter baton over the patient's body, and

information on any irregular tissue will be displayed on a computer screen. In

five minutes the exam is over.

 

 

The new device, TRIMprob (Tissue Resonance InterferoMeter Probe), consists of a

battery-powered baton and a specially designed computer being developed in

Turin, Italy, by Galileo Avionica.

 

The baton houses an antenna that produces microwaves that vary in frequency from

400 MHz to 1,350 MHz. When the microwaves hit a tumor, the tumor resonates at

about 400 MHz, producing a signal that interferes with the original signal from

the baton.

 

" They (the tumors) seem to be in a less ordered, less organized, less cohesive

state " than normal tissue, said TRIMprob's project leader, Dr. Massimo Balma, in

an e-mail interview. " When they are in this disordered state, they are able to

answer to the TRIM field. "

 

Information on this interference is sent to a computer that uses a set of

algorithms to translate the information into a readable image.

 

" The computer displays the real-time analysis of the amount of interference

measured by the receiver, " Balma said.

 

Speed is not TRIMprob's only asset. The portable, non-invasive gadget is also

comparatively cheap.

 

Galileo Avionica wants the system to roll off the shelves for about $30,000,

offering the prospect of an affordable mass-screening technology. A whole-body

MRI scanner can cost between $1 million and $3 million dollars, with a single

scan setting the patient back $1,000.

 

Despite its glowing attributes, some think the scanner is more sci-fi than

scientific.

 

" The idea of a Star Trek, Dr. McCoy kind of device that you can hold up to the

patient and see tumors is wonderful, but using it will depend on how accurate it

is, " said Dr. Kent Adler, of Hematology and Oncology Associates in San Mateo,

California.

 

So far, TRIMprob's accuracy has been tested in two independent studies. One test

was with prostate cancer at the San Carlo Borromeo Hospital in Milan, the other

with breast cancer at the European Institute of Oncology, also in Milan.

 

The scanner was able to predict prostate tumors in 93 percent of cases that were

later confirmed by biopsy. TRIMprob also correctly diagnosed 82 percent of

healthy patients as being cancer-free.

 

In the breast cancer trial, TRIMprob correctly diagnosed cancer in 66 percent of

the cases. Balma said that because there are numerous breast cancer pathologies,

more research is needed to increase TRIMprob's accuracy in this area.

 

TRIMprob's role is, however, limited to detection only. It cannot give

information on how big the tumors are. If cancer is detected, the patient must

undergo further diagnostic scans to determine the course of treatment.

 

" It could be used to see if there is anything there, and then if yes, a regular

exam could be done for diagnostic purposes, " said Robert J. Achermann, executive

director of the California Radiological Society in Sacramento.

 

But this will only be useful if TRIMprob gives consistently accurate results.

 

" If it had a zero percent of false negatives, then it would be useful because it

would mean the patient wouldn't have to go on to do more tests, " said Dr. Asad

Bashay of the University of California, San Diego, Cancer Center.

 

" But if it wasn't this accurate, then the patient would have to have more scans

anyway, so in these circumstances it wouldn't be worth using. "

 

Experts will remain cautious until a study on TRIMprob's abilities has been

examined in a peer-reviewed medical journal.

 

Balma is confident, however, that TRIMprob will stand the test. If it lives up

to its reputation, TRIMprob will prove to be a useful addition to the scanners

already available.

 

" If it works, it sounds great, " said Dr. Stephen Karp, director of the Lahey

Clinic breast cancer center in Burlington, Massachusetts.

 

Balma said TRIMprob will be in Italian clinics for prostate cancer scanning in

September, with further trials for lung, stomach, liver and colorectal cancer

already underway.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Note: Ads will not appear when the page is printed

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wired News: Staff | Contact Us | Advertising

We are translated daily into Spanish, Portuguese, and Japanese

© Copyright 2003, Lycos, Inc. .

 

 

 

 

 

 

@

 

Alternative Medicine/Health-Vitamins, Herbs, Aminos, etc.

 

To , e-mail to:

alternative_medicine_forum-

 

Or, go to our group site at:

alternative_medicine_forum

 

 

 

SBC DSL - Now only $29.95 per month!