WASHINGTON — Estrogen fuels breast cancer, but doctors can’t measure how much of the hormone is in a woman’s breast without cutting into it. A Canadian invention might change that: a lab-on-a-chip that can do the work quickly with just the poke of a small needle.
Several years of study will be needed before the experimental device could hit doctors’ offices, but the research published Wednesday opens the tantalizing possibility of easy, routine monitoring of various hormones. Doctors could use it to see whether breast cancer therapy is working, to tell who’s at high risk and to treat other problems, such as infertility.
University of Toronto researchers used a powerful new technology to measure tiny droplets of estrogen from samples at least 1,000 times smaller than today’s testing requires. Called digital microfluidics, it uses electricity to separate and purify droplets of the hormone from a mix of other cells — all on the surface of a chip no bigger than a credit card.
Toronto gynecology specialist Dr. Noha Mousa will use the technique to measure estrogen levels in a soon-to-start study of more than 200 Canadian women at high risk of getting breast cancer, who are testing whether taking estrogen-blocking aromatase inhibitors for a year lowers their risk.
But the technology is applicable to more than breast cancer.
Mousa points to infertile women who have large amounts of blood drawn several times a month to see if treatment is sparking ovulation.
