title: The Cole relaxation frequency as a parameter to identify cancer in breast tissue.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To correlate the Cole relaxation frequencies obtained from measurements of the electrical properties of breast tissue to the presence or absence of cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  Four-lead impedance measurements were obtained on ex vivo specimens extracted during surgery from 187 volunteer patients. Data were acquired with a commercial Solartron impedance bridge employing 4-lead Ag-AgCl or blackened platinum (BPt) electrodes at frequencies logarithmically spaced from 1 Hz to 3.2 × 10(7) Hz utilizing 6-10 frequencies per decade. The Cole frequencies obtained from these measurements were correlated with the tissue health status (cancer or noncancer) obtained from histological analysis of the specimens.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Analysis of the impedance measurements showed that the Cole relaxation frequencies correlated to the presence or absence of cancer in the examined tissue with a sensitivity up to 100% (95% CI, 99%-100%) and a specificity up to 85% (95% CI, 79%-91%) based on the ROC curve of the data with the Cole frequency as the classifier.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results show that the Cole frequency alone is a viable classifier for malignant breast anomalies. Results of the current work are consistent with recent bioimpedance measurements on single cell and cell suspension breast cell lines.
authors: College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI 53211, USA. wdguwm@aol.com
authors: W D
authors: WD
authors: Gregory
authors: J J
authors: JJ
authors: Marx
authors: C W
authors: CW
authors: Gregory
authors: W M
authors: WM
authors: Mikkelson
authors: J A
authors: JA
authors: Tjoe
authors: J
authors: J
authors: Shell
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003936:Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D010992:Plethysmography, Impedance / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity