Development of non-invasive, bioimpedance-based measuring device for primary tumor detection

Breast cancer is one of the most common causes of death in women, therefore early diagnosis of the tumor and continuous monitoring of the therapeutic response are essential for the successful treatment. Bioimpedance spectrum is a completely new oncological biomarker that could support early diagnosis, personalized cancer therapy and medical decision-making. The aim of this project is to develop a bioimpedance spectroscopy (BIS) -based diagnostic device and associated measurement protocols that can detect the emergence of primary tumors, track their growth and response to therapy with the same reproducibility and reliability as the currently used medical imaging methods like CT, MRI, US or PET. Due to the sensitivity and limitations of the BIS method were not yet fully known, the suitability of our novel measuring instrument for monitoring tumor growth was investigated using a genetically engineered mouse model of breast cancer. The following article describes the pilot experiment and its promising preliminary results examining breast cancer.