Replacing mammograms with Breast Cancer Blood Test

[Guest guest]

Cancer - Company Reports Initial Success with Breast Cancer Blood Test

 

http://www.cancerpage.com/cancernews/cancernews1098.htm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Company Reports Initial Success with Breast Cancer Blood Test

By Doug Macron

NEW YORK, Jun 02 (Reuters Health) - Matritech, Inc., of Newton,

Massachusetts, announced on Thursday (6/1/00) that it has completed the

proof of clinical concept for its NMP66 breast cancer blood test.

The test, said Matritech, is based on its nuclear matrix protein (NMP)

technology, which correlates the levels of nuclear matrix proteins in the

body to the presence of cancer.

According to the company, the trial consisted of 78 specimens tested using

proprietary specimen preparation and mass spectrometry procedures.

Forty-five of the specimens were taken from women diagnosed with breast

cancer in various stages, while five were taken from women with Ductal

Carcinoma in Situ (DCIS). The last 28 specimens came from women who were

either normal or diagnosed with benign disease.

" We detected every case of cancer, and ruled out cancer for all normal

samples, " David L. Corbet, president and COO of Matritech, said. " Based on

this...we consider 'proof of concept' complete. "

However, due to the small number of specimens, which came from patients that

the company knew did or did not have cancer ahead of time, Dr. Clifford

Hudis, chief of breast cancer medicine services at Memorial Sloan-Kettering

Cancer Center, expressed concerns that the test may not be accurate with

larger patent populations.

" If [the test] has even a low rate of false-positive results...[and you

test] a million people...then you have thousands, literally, of positive

results that don't indicate cancer, " he said in an interview with Reuters

Health on Thursday.

Since the 78 specimens of the trial are the entire scope of Matritech's

testing of NMP66 so far, " the company will be engaging in a much larger

clinical trial, perhaps by the end of the year, " a Matritech spokesman told

Reuters Health. " Should the results and the data prove encouraging, [the

company] may be in a position at that point to either broaden the trial or

go right to the [uS Food and Drug Administration]. "

" The company is not looking to replace mammography, " he added.

Citing difficulties sometimes encountered when performing mammography on

younger women, as well as errors that can occur with the interpretation of

mammograms, the spokesman said that Matritech believes that the NMP66 test

may be used to complement the standard breast cancer screening procedure.

Dr. Hudis said that, in the setting of an abnormal mammogram, a test such as

NMP66 could be very useful.

The test is covered by three patents issued to the Massachusetts Institute

of Technology, which are exclusively licensed to the company. Matritech

said that it has filed an additional four patents that seek coverage for the

use of NMPs in the management of breast cancer.

 

 

 

" Reuters content is the intellectual property of Reuters Limited. Any

copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by

caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior

written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or

delays in content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. "

 

Send this article to a friend

Do you have any questions about this information? If so Ask our RN

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

home | my cancer page | news | comments

about us | policies | search

 

Why buy it here?

Could a book, music or video

help you in your fight against cancer? Search Amazon.com for the title

 

 

 

cancerpage.com 2000. All rights reserved. For sponsorship information, click

here. Please send your feedback, comments and suggestions to our staff. Read

our policies and terms of service

We to the HONcode principles of the Health On the Net Foundation