detection of breast cancer using non-invasive x-ray diffraction technique of hair: a preliminary study

background: an early diagnosis of breast cancer relates directly to an accurate treatment plan and strategy. early detection of breast cancer before its development would be a significant reduction of morbidity and mortality rates. the aim of this preliminary study is to investigate the sensitivity of wide angle x-ray diffraction (waxrd) method on women hair samples of healthy and breast cancer patients in comparison with other modalities such as synchrotron based xrd beam and mammography. materials and methods: hair samples were taken from occipital region of skull from healthy and breast cancer patients (43 women) were analyzed using  x-ray diffraction and the results were analyzed and compared with mammography and pathology reports. results: the results of analyzed samples showed the sensitivity for purposed waxrd method was 86% in comparison with synchrotron based xrd beam (64%) and also with mammography (70%). conclusion: this non-invasive method is less harmful and is more sensitive than the two other methods and help the physicians for choosing accurate treatment plan.