Institution: | aDepartment of Particle Physics, Weizmann Institute of Science, POB 26, Rehovot 76100, Israel bSoreq NRC, Yavne 81800, Israel cDepartment of Pathology, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer 52624, Israel dDepartment of Urology, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer 52624, Israel eDepartment of Pathology, Kaplan Medical Center, POB 1, Rehovot, Israel fDepartment of Urology, Kaplan Medical Center, POB 1, Rehovot, Israel |
Abstract: | We present our studies of prostatic Zn concentration measurements, carried out in the light of a novel prostate cancer (CAP) diagnosis method proposed by us. The method is based on in vivo prostatic Zn mapping by XRF trans-rectal probe. We report on the extensive clinical studies, intended to assess the validity of the novel proposed diagnostic method. Zn content was measured in vitro in needle-biopsy samples from several hundreds of patients, and was correlated with histological findings and other patient parameters. For this purpose, a technique of absolute Zn content determination in 1 mm3 fresh tissue samples by XRF was developed. The experimental details and the main clinical-evaluation results are presented. We further outline the suggested design of the XRF trans-rectal probe for an efficient in vivo detection and mapping of the Zn fluorescence radiation from the prostate through the rectal wall. Laboratory phantom studies, a preliminary design concept and its expected performance are also reported. |