Sensitive cancer test
German scientists have revealed a new test for cancer, more sensitive than any existing technique and capable of predicting for the first time whether a tumour has spread.

Speaking at the
conference Physics 2005 in
on Tuesday 12th April, scientists revealed a new test for cancer, more sensitive than any existing technique and capable of predicting for the first time whether a tumour has spread.
Unlike existing techniques which rely on expert visual assessment or unreliable biochemical measurements, the “optical stretcher” tests the physical strength of each cell and can give a diagnosis using as few as 50 cells, allowing doctors to test for cancer where traditional biopsies are dangerous or even impossible. The ability to measure the progress of a cancer by examining only the primary tumour should reduce the number of unnecessary and traumatic mastectomies in women with breast cancer.
Professor Josef Käs and Dr Jochen Guck from the
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