Page 104 - AWSAR 2.0

80 || AWSAR Awarded Popular Science Stories - 2019
Noninvasive Marker of Breast Cancer Using Dermatoglyphic Tool of ATD Angle Measurement
Dr Alibha Rawat*
Email: alibhaguru@yahoo.com
Breast cancer is one of the most prominentcancersinwomenworldwide, and its incidence has been rising at an
alarming speed. It accounts for nearly 23% of all cancers worldwide. There is a need to look for novel tumour markers for its early and effective diagnosis.
Mammography has been the cornerstone of diagnostic screening for breast cancer for decades, and no doubt, it is the most effective and established method of diagnosis, but this has also resulted in a lot of false-negative cases and overtreatment of lumps. This invariably increases anxiety in women and is certainly a painful procedure. This call for a novel screening method, which is preferably noninvasive and can establish high-risk categories that should then be monitored by mammography and
other confirmatory procedures such as fine- needle aspiration and magnetic resonance imaging. Dermatoglyphics, the branch of anthropometry, which deals with the study of epidermal ridges and patterns found in the hands and soles of human beings, is one such noninvasive technique that has been explored as a marker for breast cancer screening. It can play a very pivotal role in minimizing this anxiety and convincing women to go for a screening to check their risk factors. It is simpler to perform, and once high risk is established, taking into account other established risk factors, including family history, co-morbidities such as diabetes and thyroid disorders, parity and menopausal status, other aggressive measures can then be performed.
In this regard, my PhD work aimed to
* Dr Alibha Rawat, Post Doctoral Fellow from Atal Bihari Institute of Good Governance and Policy Analysis, Bhopal, is pursuing her research on “Assessing the Usage of Non-Communicable Disease Clinics for Carcinoma Breast Screening Using Health-Belief Model in Select Districts of Madhya Pradesh”. Her popular science story entitled “Noninvasive Marker of Breast Cancer Using Dermatoglyphic Tool of ATD Angle Measurement” has been selected for AWSAR Award.