Investigating the feasibility of breast cancer detection using a Synchrotron accelerator through X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF) technique on hair and nail samples

Breast cancer is one of the most common concerns of human societies, which is unfortunately spreading, and today it is the most common cancer in women and the second cause of death after lung cancer. As a result, early detection of cancer is one of the most effective steps in the definitive treatment of cancer in the world. In this study, X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy was performed using synchrotron accelerator on hair and nail samples in order to compare the concentration of zinc, calcium and sulfur elements in the samples of healthy women and breast cancer patients. Healthy samples were collected from women who did not have any signs of breast cancer in physical examinations and mammography imaging, and cancer samples were collected from people who had signs of malignant cancerous tumors with conventional methods such as mammography and biopsy. The results of this study were obtained from X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy at the Ultra Synchrotron located in Trieste, Italy, which indicates a significant decrease in zinc in hair samples and a significant increase in sulfur in nail samples of breast cancer patients compared to healthy individuals, while in No significant changes were observed in the calcium level.