Women donate their TEARS to help with breast cancer research
- Around 400 New Zealand women have donated their tears to science
- They watched the film Brooklyn as their tears were collected
- American company Ascendant Diagnostics collected the samples
- They believes proteins in tears could help detect breast cancer
- The company is working on a new technology for cancer screening
Lauren Ingram For Daily Mail Australia
View
comments
Usually all that comes out of a screening of a sad movie is a lot of popcorn consumed and some soggy tissues.
But at a New Zealand cinema recently, something else was achieved—a potential breakthrough in detecting breast cancer.
Women watching the drama Brooklyn donated their tears to researchers who are developing a new cancer detection device.
Women in New Zealand have donated their tears (above) to try and help with breast cancer research
The tears were collected by Ascendant Diagnostics Dx, who believe proteins in tears could detect breast cancer
American researchers from company Ascendant Diagnostics (Dx) believe that tears could potentially help breast cancer with 90 per cent accuracy.
‘The screening assay for breast cancer is based on a proprietary set of proteins found in tear fluid, called Melody,’ the company explains in a research abstract.
‘This collection of proteins can distinguish women who have breast cancer from women who do not with sensitivity of 88 per cent and a specificity of 86 per cent.’
-
Mastectomy scars and a baby bump: Woman poses for incredibly…
From a bride cheating with the wedding singer to a kid using…
Hey bey-by! Beyonce inspired dance classes for new parents…
Food for thought? Bizarre options for Miss World Australia’s…
Around 400 women watched the tear-jerker drama film Brooklyn (above) in order for the samples to be collected
Currently mammograms are the most common way to detect breast cancer, but they are not as effective for women with dense breast tissue
But before seeking regulatory approval, the scientists need to refine the testing device and needed more tears.
400 women volunteered for the good of the research, and with a tear-jerker like Brooklyn on the screen it wasn’t hard to get samples.
Ascendant Diagnostics hopes to create a device that can more easily detect breast cancer early.
Scientists hope this new technology can be developed and used in conjunction with other screening to detect cancer earlier
While mammograms are currently the most common way for detecting the cancer, the company claims they are only 13 per cent effective for women with dense breast tissue.
The new technology they are developing does not have that issue, and they plan for it to be used in conjunction with other screening techniques.
While the technology would be a huge breakthrough, it may be a few years away as scientists refine it.
Share or comment on this article
-
e-mail
-
Most watched News videos
- Car dramatically crashes into a cyclist at a roundabout
- Is this the creepy moment the corpse of a girl OPENS her eyes?
- Dramatic scenes as group of snakes pursue fleeing iguana
- Comedian Jon Stewart: ‘Trump is a draft dodging orange Groundhog!’
- Mother shaves daughters hair after she ‘bullies cancer girl’
- Horrific moment child gets crushed underneath falling door
- ‘I have no answer’: Meghan Markle flops British knowledge quiz
- Snakes on a plane! Snake appears during Aeromexico flight
- Idiot jihadi firing rifle falls off bonnet of a car
- Paul Connolly sends his team undercover to buy a fake ID card
- Concerned man rescues 2-year-old found wandering at 3am
- Adorable Chihuahua can’t keep it’s eyes open
-
Revenge of the Deplorables: The most extraordinary…
-
An eye for an eye: Iranian thug is BLINDED as punishment for…
-
Harry confirms he HAS been dating Meghan for ‘months’:…
-
EXCLUSIVE: The private Donald – Lounging on the bed in his…
-
Clinton supporters weep openly – but just across Manhattan,…
-
So don’t they trust them? Donald Trump sneaks a peek at…
-
Book your tickets for Canada now! Misery for Hillary’s band…
-
REVEALED: Doctor who was run over by his wife, 60, after…
-
Trump says he’s ‘very proud’ of all his kids… but youngest…
-
Illegal immigrant cousin ‘who snatched 10-year-old Texas…
-
I voted! Reese Witherspoon, Sofia Vergara and…
-
America decides: Hillary and Donald cast their votes amid…
Comments (0)
Share what you think
No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts,
or debate this issue live on our message boards.
Find out now