Hair could hold the key

Unlocking cancer codes with human hair is the specialty area ofa young Macquarie Uni researcher

Alock of hair could quite literally bold tbe key! A significant discovery b y lndian origin researcher Dharmica M iser y has led to a novel approach in the war against breast cancer

Affecting women of all ages, the dreaded killer is the second most common cause of cancer- related deaths among women, \,rich one in eleven at ri sk of developing the disease.

Currently doctors use what is known as the "tri ple test" to identify potential breast cancer patients Based on farnily history, it could typically include physical examination, mrunmogram , ultrasound or l'vIRI and biopsy.

In the fumre, Misery's exciting new findings could well provide a safe and viab le alternative to these painful tests - one time is sui table for women o f all ages.

The PhD student at Macquarie Univers ity's Australian School of Advanced Medicine has identified tl1at women wit!, breast cru1cer have higher levels of phospholipids (fat derivatives) in their bloodstrerun iliac cru1 be detected in tl1eir hair.

"The theory behind this biology," Dbarmica told Tndirm Li11k, "is chat the cancer secretes lipids into tl1e b loodstream which are taken up b y the hair fo.llicle ru1d incorporated into the patient's hair. Lipids are found in hair cell membranes as well as o n the exterior of the hair shaft (a result of sebum and hair produces) "

Acco rd ing to Misery, the particular li pids of interest are me internal ones. "Even though lipids are found in hair cells, what we are looking for is an increase in breast cancer-associated lip ids," she clarified.

Although the correlation between breast cancer and cha11ge in hair strucmre was first n oted by Veronica Ja mes in 1999, Mistry has fu1ally identified tl1e acmal molecules tliat cause tlus cha11ge.

"Initially we assumed it was a protein change i n the hair that is associated with breast cancer," she stated. "However in 2009, we discovered tliat it was acmally a lipid that was giving rise to the changed x- ray diffraction pattern " T lus discovery, in face, was quite

Dharmica Mistry accidental. Naturally inquisitive, Mistry ru1alysed srunples of her own hair to find telltale rings quite siniilar to diseased ones, even though she is ca11cer-free.

"Ir all came to light from using my hair as a normal control for the x- ra)' diffraction studies. M)' hai r exh ibited the change we see in a cancer patient's hair, and I had been using olive oil as a conditio ner. Olive oil is a lipid, and when I stopped applying it co my hair, the pattern reverted to a normal one," she explained.

" This ttiggered furtl1er investigation and we were able to convincing!)' demonstrate that one or more lipids were responsib le for the breast ca11cer feature in the diffract.ion pattern," continued Misery.

Based on her hypothesis, a group of researchers have now developed a rest to identify altered cell structures in women witl1 breast cancer.

"To develop a screening test for breast ca11cer, we cm a sample of die patient's hair, close to die scalp, a11d extract the lipids from the hair. We then use a technique called mass spectrometry to analyse die samples," she explained.

Supervised b y Macquarie

ULuversity's Dr Peter French an d Professor l\.fark Connor, tl1e work is being funded b y SBC Research Limited, a private compru1y sec up in 2010 to explore the use o f both x- ray diffraction and mass spectrometry of hair to evenmally develop the test for breast cru1cer.

Mistry, who has researching this speci fie area since 2008, believes tl1ar the technology could definitely be used as a su pp lement to manm1ography and has die potential to replace mammograph y, if ascertaining the specific lipids involved increased the accuracy.

SBC is currently in the midst of a cli1ucal trial to firstly, identify the lipids involved and then to determine the accuracy of a test based on those lipids.

" To this end, we have been collecting hair from clinics in Sydney and have been using the mass spectrometry facilitie s of Metabolomics Australia in Melbourne," said Mistry.

Currently her team is a lso working o n finding tlie association between tl1e rumour stage and the level of lipid found in hair.

As yet, commercialisation is still a couple of years away, she admitted. "\Xie still need to conduct extensive studies to confirm the accmac y of using this reclu10logy to detect breast cancer. However, if we are s uccessful , rbe potential is enormous".

The current standard screening system (mammography) is not ro utine ly available for women under the age o f 50 for a range of reasons. "However, once we have developed a sens itive, specific and non-invasive test using hair, it is possib le that this w ill become a muversal screening tesr for women of aU ages," she added hopefull y.

Hmnan b io logy and aU irs diverse aspects, particularly tl1e way d1e b rain functions, fascinate the young researcher. "lt is extremely compelling a11d constantly challenging," says the UK born M istry who has a degree in Microbiology. " In all honesty, ] wasn't sure what research was about until my fomth year at Sydney U n iversity," she admitted candidl y "S tudying strange bacteria that live in eucal ypt trees, 1 found they could infect humans too. I l earnt so much that year and found that real science is all about chinking o u tside the square and pushing the boundaries - and all t hat is possible in research".

A positive outcome of SBC's clinical tri als could provide a lughly sensitive and painless test for breast cancer, wi th t he potential to significantly reduce the p robability of dead,