Electropotentials in the Clinical Assessment of Breast Neoplasia

Although cancer cells differ in many ways from the cells of the host from which they arise, it has proved difficult to exploit these differences to improve diagnosis and treatment of solid malignancy. It has been known for some time that there are differences in the surface electrical potential of normal and malignant cells but until recently there have been no mechanisms available to measure these differences. With advances in electrode technology and the use of microprocessors to control and record direct current, it has proved possible to measure the differences in potentials to normal and malignant tissues. These differences can be measured at the skin surface of organs such as the breast. This book reports early results on measuring the skin potential of patients with benign and malignant breast disease and indicates that this technique could have considerable clinical impact. Differences in skin potential are demonstrated in both symptomatic and screened patients with breast cancer. Further investigation of this new non-invasive technique is clearly warranted.