A breast pre-cancer test? Preliminary results based on a breast temperature rhythm abnormality during the menstrual cycle

Summary

This study documents the menstrual thermal cycle of 16 breasts considered at normal risk for breast cancer (8 women) and 15 breasts considered at high risk for breast cancer (i.e. ipsilateral N = 7 or contralateral N = 8 to a previously [locally] excised carcinoma). The surface thermometry studies were carried out for 1 1/2 hours each evening for one menstrual cycle using a special automated instrumentation, the ‘Chronobra’, with the subject at home. The surface temperatures were adjusted to remove the fluctuations in arterial blood temperature during the menstrual cycle, so that they are thought to represent a breast-specific menstrual rhythm. Across subjects, the cycles were synchronised by the day of the progesterone peak obtained by radioimmunoassay of saliva collected daily. Following ovulation, the normal risk breasts exhibited a steady rise of temperature for 14 days to a well defined peak. In contrast the ‘high-risk’ breasts exhibited a continuous hyperthermia with smaller peaks. Linear discrimination analysis by multiple regression achieved a complete separation of the individual normal and ‘high-risk’ data sets. The method shows promise for the development of a non-invasive screening test for breast pre-cancer in premenopausal women.