Mexican Researchers Design Device to Detect Breast Cancer Through Saliva Agencia EFE
go to original April 6, 2016

A woman participates in an event to draw public attention to the fight against breast cancer. (EFE)

A team of researchers at Mexico's Monterrey Institute of Technology is developing a device for the early detection of breast cancer, a key to improving the chances of successful treatment of the disease.

A sensor, embedded in an ultrathin film about two microns thick and 10 millimeters long, is able to detect the Cerb-b2 protein, which is present in the saliva of "a large number of women" in the early stages of breast cancer, research team leader Joaquin Esteban Oseguera Peña told EFE.

A great advantage of this method is that detection may happen earlier than through self-exploration of the breast, since the test is positive when the tumor is just microns wide, a size 1,000 times smaller than when it is detected manually, and when "it's of interest to find it because it could be reversible," Oseguera said.

The Cerb-b2 protein is present in about 98 percent of women with breast cancer.

Read the rest at Fox News Latino

Related: Peer Conversations Help Boost Breast Cancer Screening Rates In Latina Women (KUOW)

We invite you to add your charity or supporting organizations' news stories and coming events to PVAngels so we can share them with the world. Do it now!