Liquid crystal thermography for breast cancer detection: principles, current evidence, limitations, and future directions

Sep 23, 2026

Breast cancer remains a leading cause of cancer-related mortality in women worldwide, making early and accurate detection a global clinical priority. Conventional screening modalities such as mammography, ultrasonography, and MRI have defined strengths and limitations, including reduced mammographic sensitivity in heterogeneously or extremely dense breast tissue. Liquid Crystal Thermography (LCT) is a contact-based, non-invasive, radiation-free technique using thermochromic liquid crystal foils to map breast surface thermal patterns. This narrative review explains LCT’s physical and physiological basis, outlines a Braster-based workflow, evaluates diagnostic performance evidence, and analyzes limitations, confounders, and evidence gaps versus established modalities.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages19

Reading Time48 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Highlights

Keywords

Introduction

Breast cancer burden and diagnostic delay

Screening modalities and limitations

Liquid crystal thermography method overview

Physical and physiological basis

Braster-based contact workflow

Current evidence and diagnostic performance

Dense-breast context

Evidence heterogeneity and bias

Limitations and confounding factors

Regulatory and comparative-study gaps

Future directions

Mohd Sha’ari etal. Journal of the Egyptian National Cancer Institute (2026) 38:47 [https://doi.org/10.1186/s43046-026-00383-6](https://doi.org/10.1186/s43046-026-00383-6) Journal of the Egyptian National Cancer Institute REVIEW Open Access Liquid crystal thermography for breast cancer detection: principles, current evidence, limitations, and future directions Ainnur Bazilah Mohd Sha’ari 1, Heba Mohammed Arafat2*, Tengku Ahmad Damitri Al Astani Tengku Din2, Bazli MdYusoff3, Ohood Mohammed Shamallakh4 and Wan FaiziahWan Abdul Rahman 1* Abstract Breast cancer remains a leading cause of cancer-related mortality in women worldwide, making early and accurate detection a global clinical priority. Conventional screening modalities, including mammography, ultrasonography, and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), each have well-established strengths and limitations; in particular, mammographic sensitivity is reduced in women with heterogeneously or extremely dense breast tissue, where it may fall to approximately 50% . Liquid Crystal Thermography (LCT) is a contact-based, non-invasive, radiation-free technique that uses thermochromic liquid crystal (TLC) foils to map surface thermal patterns on the breast and has been investigated as a potential adjunct to standard breast screening. This narrative review summarises the physical and physiological basis of LCT, describes the Braster-based contact thermography workflow, evaluates published diagnostic performance data, and provides a structured analysis of current limitations, confounding factors, and evidence gaps in comparison with established screening modalities. Available studies suggest that LCT may have a role as an investigational adjunctive or triage tool, particularly in settings with limited access to standard imaging; however, the evidence base is heterogeneous, predominantly small in sample size, and methodologically variable, and is insufficient at this stage to establish LCT as a standalone substitute for mammography. The U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has explicitly stated that thermography should not be used in place of mammography for breast cancer screening or diagnosis. Any potential advantage of LCT in dense breast tissue remains unconfirmed, as no published comparative study has yet provided head-to-head false-negative and falsepositive counts across modalities within this subgroup. Preliminary observational data from an ongoing Malaysian case series are included only to illustrate the clinical workflow; these findings are exploratory, unpublished, and not peer-reviewed, and should not be interpreted as confirmatory evidence of diagnostic performance. Future research priorities include large-scale prospective validation, standardised acquisition and interpretation protocols, and rigorous comparative reporting of sensitivity, specificity, and misclassification rates. *Correspondence: Heba Mohammed Arafat [hebaarafat4@hotmail.com](hebaarafat4@hotmail.com)[ ](hebaarafat4@hotmail.com)Wan FaiziahWan Abdul Rahman [wfaiziah@usm. my](wfaiziah@usm. my) Full list of author information is available at the end of the article © The Author(s) 2026. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit [http://creat

FAQs

What problem does Liquid Crystal Thermography (LCT) aim to address in breast cancer screening?

LCT aims to support early and accurate breast cancer detection by mapping surface thermal patterns non-invasively, especially where conventional imaging limitations can reduce diagnostic sensitivity.

How does LCT work according to the review?

LCT is a contact-based, non-invasive, radiation-free technique that uses thermochromic liquid crystal (TLC) foils to map thermal patterns on the breast surface, implemented through a Braster-based contact workflow.

Why is LCT not recommended as a standalone substitute for mammography?

The review emphasizes heterogeneous, mostly small and methodologically variable evidence, insufficient comparative data (including head-to-head false-negative and false-positive counts in dense-breast subgroups), and an FDA statement that thermography should not replace mammography for screening or diagnosis.

Sep 23, 2026

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