A Discrete Transition Zone Between Cuticle and Cortex Layers of a Human Hair Fiber: Changes Observed in the Presence of Breast Cancer

October 2017 in “ ecancermedicalscience ”

Donald J. Lyman, Paula Gerstmann

keratin cuticle cortex orthocortical cells lipid ester ATR-FT-IR spectroscopy discrete transition zone DTZ

TLDR Breast cancer alters specific molecular structures in hair, which revert after cancer removal.

The study used ATR-FT-IR spectroscopy to identify a discrete transition zone (DTZ) in human hair fibers between the cuticle and cortex layers, composed of orthocortical cells. Significant changes in keratin molecular structure were observed in this zone, with distinct keratins produced at the cuticle-cortex interface. The DTZ showed changes in lipid ester C-H bending, which were indicative of breast cancer. Specifically, lipid ester absorption bands at 1738 and 1732 cm<sup>-1</sup> were absent in cancerous hair, replaced by a new band at 1736 cm<sup>-1</sup>. These changes disappeared after breast cancer removal, suggesting that cancer-related biomarkers affected lipid ester production in the DTZ.

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$Experimental Confirmation of a Distinctive Diffraction Pattern in Hair From Women With Breast Cancer$

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