Non Invasive XRF Analysis of Human Hair for Health State Determination of Breast Tissue

BACKGROUND: Using hair samples to analyze the trace element concentrations is of interest among many researchers. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) are the most common methods in studying the structure and concentration of elements of tissues and also crystalline materials, using low energy X-ray. OBJECTIVES: In the present study, the detection ability of Wave Length X-ray Fluorescence (WLXRF) of breast cancer at early stages was evaluated and the results were compared with other routine modalities such as mammography. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Hair samples of 54 women (including 27 healthy and 27 patients) with average age of 52.03 ± 11.44 years were analyzed. All the sample donors were Iranian women. For the measurements Wave Length X-ray Fluorescence (WLXRF) method was used. RESULTS: Trace elements in healthy individuals were higher than those in cancer patients. In addition, sensitivity of the used method (WLXRF) was 96% compared to mammography (77%) as a gold standard for breast cancer detection. CONCLUSIONS: Trace elements in healthy individuals were higher than cancer patients and it seems that WLXRF may be used as a safe, low cost and reliable method with sensitivity higher than those of the other two relevant methods, XRD and mammography.