'Fingerprints of cancer' found after infrared light was flashed at samples

Flashes of infrared light can detect signs of cancer in a patient’s blood. Scientists demonstrated that a test using infrared light can detect the difference between blood samples from patients with lung cancer and samples from those without the disease with up to 81 per cent accuracy.

- EMILY COOKE

Their findings are published in ACS Central Science. The new test is powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and examines differences in molecules found in blood plasma, the watery portion of blood that carries various proteins and chemical compounds, such as hormones and vitamins, around the body.

When blood samples are exposed to flashes of infrared light from a laser, the molecules held within the plasma vibrate. In turn, different components of the molecules absorb or reflect the energy from the light pulses, and consequently they emit their own distinctive pattern of light that can be recorded and read as an ‘infrared molecular fingerprint.’ The fingerprint differs between patients with cancer and those without the disease, the researchers reported. This suggests that the blood-screening method could offer a new approach to detecting cancer.