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Lasers Bring Better Cancer Diagnosis

Rebecca Kutzer-Rice | Date: 03-02-11 | Comments

A new device uses two lasers to distinguish healthy skin cells from cancerous ones. The tool could save money, reduce invasive procedures and prevent the thousands of misdiagnoses that occur each year.

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Lasers Bring Better Cancer Diagnosis
Laser technology just keeps getting better. The newest lasers have the ability to detect hidden explosives and illegal drugs and to shoot down enemy missiles. Now lasers could be used to make cancer diagnosis cheaper and less invasive, according to researchers at Duke University.

Melanoma, a type of skin cancer, is one of the most common cancers, with nearly 70,000 new cases arising each year in the United States alone. It is also one of the only cancers whose death rate is increasing annually. In traditional diagnosis, a doctor removes a tissue sample�usually a suspicious mole�and sends it to a laboratory. There, a pathologist analyzes the sample under a microscope, looking for signs of disease. This so-called "light and lens" test is only 85 percent accurate.

Melanoma is one of the most common cancers, and its death rate is increasing annually.

According to a 2010 study published in the Journal of American Academy of Dermatology, pathologists would differ on diagnoses of 14 percent of possible cancers. That translates to 214,000 to 643,000 melanoma cases each year, the Duke researchers said.

Because of these diagnosis discrepancies, most doctors are highly conservative when it comes to removing skin cancers. Patients undergo painful and invasive surgeries that end up costing thousands of dollars.

Inspired by this need for better testing methods, the team of Duke researchers developed a laser-based tool to improve skin cancer diagnosis. The device beams small amounts of energy�less than is emitted from a laser pointer�from two lasers into a worrisome section of skin. How the energy redistributes itself into the different skin pigments gives scientists clues about its health.

Next: Distinguishing Healthy from Cancerous Skin >>