Hair's here for breast cancer

Sydney biotech Fermiscan has completed a 2000-patient validation trial of its human hair test for breast cancer.

The trial, to compare results from current breast cancer screening methods like mammography and ultrasound - along with subsequent biopsy and pathology results - found that the Fermiscan test achieved 69 per cent accuracy.

The success rate went up to 75 per cent once samples from patients who had chemically treated their hair were excluded.

The test uses x-ray diffraction from synchrotron light to detect an unusual ring shape in the diffraction pattern of hair when a woman has breast cancer.

In a statement, Fermiscan said it will continue progress towards commercialising the test, which it hopes to market through women's health clinics.

For more on Fermiscan, see the May/June issue of ALS.