Investigation of a correlation between taxane-based chemotherapy and the ultrasonic time-of-flight of human fingernails.

Background: Medical practitioners have long associated the physical appearance of human fingernails with certain underlying health conditions due to their direct connection to the vascular system. The objective of this study was to demonstrate how human fingernails can potentially be used as a biomarker to determine the severity of a patient's reaction to chemotherapy.

Methods: Quantitative investigation of fingernails in patients undergoing taxane-based chemotherapy was conducted using a high-frequency 50 MHz ultrasound device in B-mode in the form of a pilot study.