New Light Imaging Scan Could Boost Breast Cancer Care

(HealthDay News) -- Medical imaging that uses light waves from a special region of the spectrum called the "terahertz region" may help ensure complete breast cancer tumor removal and eliminate the need for multiple surgeries, a new study finds.

Terahertz light is located between the microwave and infrared portions of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Reporting in the May issue of Radiology, researchers used terahertz imaging to examine breast tissue samples from 22 women who had breast cancer surgery.

"We found that terahertz light could reliably distinguish between normal breast tissue, tumor and even early-stage 'in situ' cancers in excised tissue samples," study lead investigator Vincent P. Wallace said in a prepared statement.

"This technology could aid the surgeon in immediately identifying residual cancer after the main tumor has been removed, thus minimizing the need for additional surgical procedures," Wallace said.

Currently, it can take several days to get test results on excised breast tissue samples. This means that surgeons don't know if the tumor has been completely removed until well after they've done the surgery. Repeat surgeries are often necessary once doctors receive the test results.

Terahertz imaging has the potential to enable surgeons to analyze tissue samples during the initial excision procedure, the researchers concluded.