Vessel "bendiness" can indicate the presence and progression of cancer. This principle led scientists to a new method of using a high-resolution ultrasound to identify early tumors in preclinical studies. The method, based on vessel bendiness or "tortuosity," potentially offers an inexpensive, non-invasive and fast method to detect cancer that could someday help doctors identify cancers when tumors are less than a centimeter in size.

Source: Preclinical studies use specialized ultrasound to detect presence of cancer