Feasibility of Cancer Detection Through X-Ray Diffraction of Human Nails
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Background/Objectives: Establishing biomarkers is crucial for early cancer detection. Structural biomarkers can be revealed by noninvasive X-ray diffraction. We applied this approach to human nails and observed cancer-induced structural changes in the major nail tissue component, keratin. Methods: X-ray diffraction patterns were obtained from 230 nail samples (control/cancer split: 92/138) belonging to 133 patients (48/85) in wide (WAXS) and small (SAXS) ranges of scattering angles. For both ranges, we obtained one-dimensional scattering profiles in meridional and equatorial directions. We examined these profiles using machine-learning techniques such as logistic regression and linear discriminant analysis. Results: We obtained significant classification metrics that allow us to distinguish healthy and cancerous patients. The results are similar for both machine-learning methods. Combining all four profiles (WAXS meridional, WAXS equatorial, SAXS meridional, and SAXS equatorial) produced a sensitivity of 0.753 and a specificity of 0.771. For the limited set of patients of the same age, we showed that the patterns can still be distinguished, supporting our hypothesis that the observed aberrations are cancer-induced. Conclusions: We showed that cancer detection can be achieved by means of X-ray diffraction of human nails.
Source: Cancers
Language: English
Subfield: Biophysics
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,499
OpenAlex ID: W7204843324