Feasibility of Cancer Detection Through X-Ray Diffraction of Human Nails
Date
Oct 10, 2026
Category
Medical Applications
Our new paper is now published in Cancers.
Feasibility of Cancer Detection Through X-Ray Diffraction of Human Nails
Simple Summary
Establishing biomarkers is crucial for early cancer detection. This study demonstrates the feasibility of using noninvasive X-ray diffraction of human nails to detect cancer-related structural changes in keratin, the major component of nail tissue.
The researchers analyzed X-ray diffraction patterns from 230 nail samples belonging to 133 patients, using both wide-angle and small-angle scattering profiles. Machine-learning methods, including logistic regression and linear discriminant analysis, were applied to distinguish participants with cancer from controls.
Combining WAXS meridional, WAXS equatorial, SAXS meridional, and SAXS equatorial profiles produced a sensitivity of 0.753 and specificity of 0.771 using Linear Discriminant Analysis at the Youden point. The results support the hypothesis that the observed nail structure changes are cancer-induced.
Authors: Andre L. C. Conceição, Alexander Alekseev, Viacheslav Shcherbakov, Dmitriy Shestakov, Uldana Sagyngali, Kairat Shakeev, Assylbek Zeinidenov, Assel Zhumina, Aitbek Aimukhanov, Galym Turgambekov, Anna Kryzhanovskaya, Keith Rogers, Lev Mourokh, Pavel Lazarev
