DSDS 19

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Browsing DSDS 19 by Author "Gosling, Sarah"

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    Breast microcalcifications as biomarkers of tissue pathology
    (Cranfield University, 2020-01-09 11:31) Gosling, Sarah
    Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women in the UK, accounting for 31% of all cases. Some breast malignancies, known as in-situ cancers, have the potential to form invasive cancer, but this is not true in all cases. There is significant overtreatment of in-situ cancers, which can be a traumatic process for patients. Therefore, a robust method to determine which of these malignancies will develop into clinically significant invasive cancer is required. Ductal carcinoma in-situ (DCIS), the most common in-situ breast cancer, has associated calcium deposits (microcalcifications) in 80-90% of cases. Microcalcifications are therefore an important diagnostic indicator of DCIS. These microcalcifications are composed of hydroxyapatite, a nano-crystalline calcium phosphate, with the potential for high levels of ion substitution.The crystalline nature of hydroxyapatite permits the use of X-ray diffraction to investigate the microstructure of microcalcifications found in breast tissue. X-ray diffraction patterns can be used to determine properties such as crystallite size, irregularities in the crystal lattice and give indications about the ions present. Together, differences in these parameters may permit the development of a novel prognostic marker for different breast tissue pathologies.
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    High Resolution Mapping of DCIS Breast Microcalcifications
    (Cranfield University, 2019-11-19 15:38) Gosling, Sarah
    Breast cancer accounts for 31% of all cancers in women in the UK, making it the most common female cancer. Ductal carcinoma in-situ (DCIS), a malignancy confined to the ducts of the breast, is an increasingly diagnosed cancer which is highly associated with calcium deposits (microcalcifications). Microcalcifications are associated with both benign and malignant conditions and are predominantly composed of hydroxyapatite (calcium phosphate), which has a highly substitutable structure. Therefore, microcalcifications may be important diagnostic indicators of breast malignancy.X-ray diffraction was used, for the first time, to investigate the crystallographic properties of hydroxyapatite in microcalcifications. High-resolution mapping of individual calcifications from a single sample of ductal carcinoma in-situ was carried out to investigate variability of crystallographic parameters within single calcifications, and between calcifications of the same sample. Crystallite size and non-uniform strain are two key crystallographic properties investigated in this study. Numerous parameters showed significant variability both within individual calcifications and between calcifications from the same sample. For most calcifications, values of crystallite size were significantly greater towards the centre of calcifications, however this was not true of all calcifications. This high-resolution approach has revealed potential differential formation mechanisms of calcifications in breast tissue extracted from the same patient. Calcifications may provide an exciting insight into the mechanisms of breast malignancy formation and progression; therefore, crystallographic parameters may have a role as prognostic markers in breast cancer.