EXPLORING THE POTENTIAL OF NANOPARTICLES IN ENHANCING DIAGNOSTIC ACCURACY OF BREAST CANCER

Abstract

This study explored the potential of nanoparticles to improve diagnostic accuracy in breast cancer, addressing limitations of conventional imaging modalities such as mammography and ultrasound in dense breast tissue. In a prospective pilot study, 120 women (mean age 65.3 ± 25 years) with histologically confirmed invasive breast cancer underwent 150 nanoparticle-enhanced diagnostic evaluations (90 imaging, 60 biosensing) using targeted gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs), and quantum dots (QDs), with histopathology as the reference standard and 30 healthy controls for biosensing specificity; quantum dots achieved the highest diagnostic performance (sensitivity 0.90 [95% CI: 0.82–0.95], specificity 0.95 [95% CI: 0.88–0.98], accuracy 0.92 [95% CI: 0.86–0.96]), followed by AuNPs (0.85, 0.90, 0.88) and IONPs (0.80, 0.85, 0.83), with significant inter-group differences in accuracy (Friedman p = 0.012) and no significant correlations with age or stage (Spearman’s ρ < 0.20, p > 0.05), demonstrating that nanoparticle-based platforms particularly QDs offer superior precision over conventional methods and merit large-scale clinical validation for early, accurate breast cancer detection.

Keywords:

Breast Cancer, Nanoparticles, Diagnostic Accuracy, Quantum Dots, Targeted Imaging, Biosensing