Large Scale Analysis of Complex Permittivity of Breast Cancer in Microwave Band

Abstract

To obtain some prior knowledge of breast cancer detection by microwave imaging, we have measured and analyzed the complex permittivity of tissues extracted from over 140 breast cancer surgeries. The relative permittivity and conductivity of tumor at 1.6 GHz were 17.5% and 16.2% higher than those of mammary gland tissue, respectively. In invasive ductal carcinoma of scirrhous type, 8 out of 64 had higher relative permittivity and conductivity of mammary gland than those of tumor. However, when evaluated by the Debye parameter considering the frequency dependence of the tissue, it is rare that ε∞ and Δε of cancer are simultaneously lower than those of mammary gland. The relative permittivity and conductivity of fibroadenoma are almost the same as those of mammary glands. The relative permittivity and conductivity of each tissue showed strong linearity. Microwave imaging requires accurate reconstruction of ε∞ and Δε to distinguish cancer from normal tissue.