NEWS

LOOKING BACK 10 YEARS

What Happened to the Cancer-Detecting Bra?

By Liz Savage
This is part of an occasional series with a family history of breast
that recalls some of the stories cancer and 50 healthy women
reported 10 years ago in the News and has followed up on them for
section of the Journal. 20 years, he said. Half the
Ten years ago, researchers patients have died of metastatic
dreamed of a heat-sensing bra breast cancer, and half are still
that could detect early signs of alive, he said. He is nearly ready
breast cancer in premenopausal to hand over his data to statisti-
women. A preliminary clinical cians to see how well the bra can
trial on just such a bra was in the predict outcome. The data I
works, and the scientists were have are very satisfactory, but I
hopeful that it would someday cant get any more because the
offer an accurate breast cancer instruments are unserviceable,
screening method that women he said. Without any bras to
could use at home. continue his research, Simpson
Ten years ago, researchers had high hopes that nding unusual temperature patterns in the
The trial was never con- breast with a bra like this one would detect cancers. They havent been successful yet, but hopes that his outcome data will
ducted, but the bra was not for- they remain optimistic. be strong enough to persuade
gotten. Today, the inventor of others to pursue this line of
the device, Hugh Simpson, M.D., a retired gram at a random point in the [menstrual] research. Im just trying to nish before I
pathologist and currently a senior research cycle is rather like snapping a photo of a run out of steam.
fellow at Glasgow University in Scotland, roller coaster at a point in timeyou might Simpson is not alone in his pursuit of a
is continuing the work he began decades well miss somethingwhereas the bra mea- breast cancerdetecting bra. Elias Siores,
ago. While this thermographic approach to sures all that, Simpson said. He hypothe- Ph.D., director of the Centre for Materials
breast cancer detection has lost favor with sized that this pattern of temperature change Research and Innovation at the University
many breast cancer researchers, it has not is substantially different in women with of Bolton in England, and his colleagues
been entirely abandoned. Technological breast cancer or those at high risk for breast developed a smart bra that detects changes
advances in the last decade have allowed cancer. His data comparing temperature in the breast tissue, such as inammation or
the use of more sophisticated methods of patterns and breast cancer status suggested blood ow changes, that occur before a
measuring breast temperature. that, by wearing the bra for an hour every tumor is established. We believe that we
Some breast cancer experts warn, though, day for a month, a woman could learn can pick up these changes at a very early
that these kind of heat-sensing devices have whether she is at high risk of breast cancer. stage, Siores said. Like the Chronobra,
not been tested enough to recommend their At least, that was his hypothesis 10 years Siores smart bra uses breast temperature
use. There is only preliminary data on small ago. While he still believes that the variation in an attempt to detect early
numbers of women, and the specicity ques- Chronobra can predict breast cancer risk, breast cancer, but the smart bra uses a sys-
tion has not been addressed, meaning that Simpson has changed the focus of his research. tem of microwave antennae to detect the
most of the studies look at women who are Several years ago, he approached the British changes. The technology is similar to that
known to have breast cancer, or 50% of the National Health Service with his Chronobra used to nd submarines underwaterjust a
study population has breast cancer, said research to see if they were interested in the bit smaller. The technology already exists,
Debbie Saslow, Ph.D., director of breast and device. I was told the real thing would be if it but taking this technology and putting it
gynecologic cancer at the American Cancer could predict outcome [in women who already into a bra is a task and a half, Siores said.
Society, in an e-mail. had cancer]. Outcome was the big issue in Whether these heat-sensing devises will
The bra, which Simpson dubbed the Britain because if you dont know what the ever gain broad acceptance is unclear. At
Chronobra, measures the deep temperature outcome is, then a huge number of women the least, it will take strong evidence to
of a womans breasts with a series of built-in get treated unnecessarily, and the cost is enor- overcome the skeptics. It all comes down
heat sensors. Breast temperature changes mous, Simpson said. So my whole initiative to one thing: What are the statistical
over a womans menstrual cycle as her body changed, you see, to predicting outcome. strengths of the signals? Simpson said.
prepares for pregnancy. The breast really Simpson has collected data from 100
is a very dynamic thing. Taking a mammo- women50 women with breast cancer or Oxford University Press 2007. DOI: 10.1093/jnci/djm298

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