Brain cancer is one of the most common causes of cancer death. It usually takes 2 to 3 days to be diagnosed with current medical technique and skill, however a new technique has been created and the diagnosis of brain cancer takes only 30 minutes.

Cancerous tumors in the brain or central spine canal are considered as brain cancer, it can develop at any age, but as a person gets older, the risks increase.

A series of scans including computerized tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and electroencephalogram (EEG) are the most used diagnostic technique nowadays, followed by biopsy – the surgical removal of a small piece of tissue from the tumor. This procedure usually requires 2 or 3 days to be done.

But researchers say the new technique could “transform” the diagnosis of patients with brain tumors, eliminating the need for prolonged hospital stays and invasive tests.

Experiments were done in a groups of patients including 49 with brain cancer, and 29 without. Using a combination of infrared lighting and protein biomarkers, the researchers were able to diagnose the presence of glioma serum – a marker of the primary brain tumor.
This research was published in the journal Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry.

When the infrared light was transmitted directly at the serum, the light had the ability to detect its molecular vibration, meaning the researchers could determine whether the gilomas may be cancerous or not.

The researchers said this test can confirm the brain tumor diagnosis in less than 30 minutes.

‘A milestone’ in brain cancer diagnosis

The researchers said this new technique provides a non-invasive solution for the detection of brain cancer in the early stages.

This technique can also help with medical decision-making and it may help medical professionals to improve patient’s outcomes.

The researchers believe that this technique is a milestone and it may provide objective measures for diagnosis, enabling increased efficiency and economic impact upon the health services.