Accurate diagnosis of prostate cancer with ultrasound

Prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer among men, but its diagnosis has up to now been inaccurate and unpleasant. Researchers at TU/e, in cooperation with AMC Amsterdam, have developed an imaging technology, based on ultrasound, that can accurately identify tumors. The technology also has the potential to assess how aggressive tumors are. This can lead to better and more appropriate treatment, and to cost savings in health care.

The new technology uses the injection of microbubbles of a contrast agent with no side-effects. The response of the tiny bubbles to ultrasound is different from that of human tissue or blood. This makes the bubbles traceable from the outside, right into the smallest blood vessels. The pattern of blood vessels in tumors is different from that in healthy tissue. The researchers can recognize this pattern from advanced analysis of the bubble concentrations. And because tumors need blood – and hence new blood vessels – to grow, the researchers expect to be able to see how aggressive the cancer is from the pattern of the blood vessels.

source:Eindhoven University of Technology