What if a bra could detect breast cancer?

Finding breast cancer early saves lives. In fact, when caught early, the 5-year breast cancer survival rate can be about 90% or higher.

Getting a mammogram is an effective and important way to detect breast cancer. But there are still barriers for many people. Mammograms can be difficult to access, rely on radiation, and are less accurate for people with dense breasts.

That’s why Canadian Cancer Society (CCS)-funded researcher Dr Elijah Van Houten and his team at the Université de Sherbrooke are developing a high-tech bra to detect cancerous breast tissue.

And the results are exciting! In an initial pilot study including women with and without breast cancer, the smart bra had a 100% success rate in detecting breast tumours without delivering any false positives. 

“The impact this could have on society is that we would be able to detect breast cancer very early, and at very low cost, with a system that could be used anywhere in the world,” says Dr Van Houten.

Research minute: What if your bra could detect cancer?

[Dr Elijah Van Houten, a CCS-funded researcher, appears on screen.]

Dr Van Houten: My project is a bra that’s capable of detecting breast cancer.

Words on screen: What if your bra could detect breast cancer?

Dr Van Houten: I had the idea to make a smart bra after we developed a previous system that was much too complicated and it was just another big instrument that they were going to have to find a room for in the hospital. And I realized I could put all that technology into a bra.

[A video of a member of the research team explaining the study procedures to a participant, followed by the participant using the smart bra.]

Dr Van Houten: The way the bra works is that it detects the movement of the breast, and then based on that movement, we're able to detect if there's any stiff regions inside the breast. Breast cancer is very stiff compared to healthy tissue, and so we have a very high contrast that we can use to detect the tumors.

[A video of the woman wearing the smart bra moving her arms up and down quickly in front of imaging equipment.]

Dr Van Houten: Another advantage of our bra is that it's just a regular bra. So that makes it comfortable, easy to wear something a woman could wear all day, any day without a problem. So the bra itself doesn't have any embedded technology and the technology is all in the data acquisition system. We started this project with an initial pilot study with 22 participants and we detected every cancer that was in the population. And the really excellent result was that we didn't see any cancers in women who didn't have cancer.

[A video of Dr Van Houten speaking to a woman and showing her images on a computer screen.]

Dr Van Houten: So it was a 100% success rate. Currently, we're undergoing a much larger study with 300 women where we're going to really test the system in a situation that represents actual breast cancer screening. The ultimate goal for this project is that a woman could have the system at her home, or that we could put it into community centres in regions that are far from health resources.

[A video of a man talking to the woman wearing the smart bra.]

Dr Van Houten: If I had the chance to thank a donor for their contributions to the Canadian Cancer Society, I'd thank them enormously, not just for myself and the ability that I have to continue this research, but for all the women who may benefit from this research eventually.

[A video of three women shaking hands and laughing.]

[The Canadian Cancer Society and It Takes a Society logos appear on screen.]

Words on screen: Get involved at cancer.ca

This technology could revolutionize breast cancer detection by providing new, more comfortable and accessible screening options – especially to those in remote communities, young women who require more regular screening and women with dense breasts. 

Mammography relies on x-ray imaging to detect breast cancer tumours, and dense breast tissue makes mammography less accurate. Dr Van Houten’s smart bra works by monitoring breast tissue stiffness because breast cancer tumours are more rigid than healthy breast tissue, offering an alternative for people with dense breasts.

Cyrielle Petibon is a breast cancer survivor who is participating in Dr Van Houten’s project to recruit and support women taking part in the study. She is drawing on her personal experience to support the participants and contribute to a research project that could transform breast cancer screening.

“What excites me is that wearing a bra doesn’t hurt. It’s comfortable and there’s no x-ray involved. This technology could make breast cancer screening easier and could help save more lives,” says Cyrielle.

Now, the research team is testing the bra in a larger study, with the hopes that one day all women, no matter where they live, will have access to another screening option that can find breast cancer sooner.

Donate today to help fund more world-leading cancer research like this.