Abstract
Skin changes associated with alterations in the interstitial matrix and lymph system might provide significant and measurable effects due to the presence of breast cancer. This study aimed to determine if skin electrical resistance changes could serve as a diagnostic and therapeutic biomarker associated with physiological changes in patients with malignant versus benign breast cancer lesions. Forty-eight women (24 with malignant cancer, 23 with benign lesions) were enrolled in this study. Repeated skin resistance measurements were performed within the same session and 1 week after the first measurement in the breast lymphatic region and non-breast lymphathic regions. Intraclass correlation coefficients were calculated to determine the technique’s intrasession and intersession reproducibility. Data were then normalized as a mean of comparing cross-sectional differences between malignant and benign lesions of the breast. Six months longitudinal data from six patients that received therapy were analyzed to detect the effect of therapy. Standard descriptive statistics were used to compare ratiometric differences between groups. Skin resistance data were used to train a machine learning random forest classification algorithm to diagnose breast cancer lesions. Significant differences between malignant and benign breast lesions were obtained (p<0.01), also pre- and post-treatment (p<0.05). The diagnostic algorithm demonstrated the capability to classify breast cancer with an area under the curve of 0.68, sensitivity of 66.3%, specificity of 78.5%, positive predictive value 70.7% and negative predictive value 75.1%. Measurement of skin resistance in patients with breast cancer may serve as a convenient screening tool for breast cancer and evaluation of therapy. Further work is warranted to improve our approach and further investigate the biophysical mechanisms leading to the observed changes.
Highlights
B REAST cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in women and the leading cause of cancer deaths in women worldwide [1]
The goal of early breast cancer screenings is to increase the chance of survival and provide treatment early in the disease timeline
Mammography has had significant impact on screening for breast cancer, there are limitations in the accuracy of mammography and the appropriate age range for breast cancer screening still remains a matter of debate [2]
Summary
B REAST cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in women and the leading cause of cancer deaths in women worldwide [1]. The goal of early breast cancer screenings is to increase the chance of survival and provide treatment early in the disease timeline. The current gold standard technique for breast cancer screening is mammography. Mammography has had significant impact on screening for breast cancer, there are limitations in the accuracy of mammography and the appropriate age range for breast cancer screening still remains a matter of debate [2]. Annual mammograms are typically given to women above the age of 40-50 years old due to exposure of radiation and frequency of false positive results [3]. Many younger women are not screened for breast cancer until later in their life.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
