BioCentury
ARTICLE | Tools & Techniques

Aspiring cancer diagnostic

March 24, 2011 7:00 AM UTC

Massachusetts researchers have developed portable NMR technology that uses fine needle aspirates to help scientists diagnose cancer more quickly and accurately than is possible with conventional tumor biopsies.1 Although the technology could confirm the results of a biopsy or provide preliminary evidence that a biopsy is warranted, it is unlikely to replace histological analysis of biopsies as the diagnostic standard because it does not involve visual inspection of the sample to confirm the presence of cancer cells.

Biopsies rely on histological analysis and microscopic inspection of a sample of suspect tissue. The tissue sample is taken percutaneously with a large-gauge needle in core biopsy procedures or with a fine-gauge needle in a less invasive procedure called fine needle aspiration. The latter has a lower risk of complications, such as excessive bleeding, but yields a smaller amount of tissue that limits the number and total amount of markers available for histological analysis...