FDA approves first molecular-based lab test to detect metastatic breast cancer

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved the first molecular-based laboratory test for detecting whether breast cancer has spread (metastasized) to nearby lymph nodes. The GeneSearch BLN Assay detects molecules that are abundant in breast tissue but scarce in a normal lymph node. The presence or absence of breast cancer cells in underarm lymph nodes is a powerful predictor of whether the cancer has spread and is used to help decide appropriate therapy for a woman with metastatic breast cancer. Lymph nodes are part of the system that helps protect the body against infection. The first lymph node that filters fluid from the breast is called the 'sentinel node,' because that is where breast cancer cells are likely to spread first. During a lumpectomy or mastectomy to remove a breast tumor, surgeons commonly remove the sentinel node for examination under a microscope. Sometimes the sentinel node is examined immediately and if tumor cells are found, additional lymph nodes are removed. A more extensive microscopic examination, requiring one to two days for results, is almost always performed. If tumor cells are only found with the later microscopic examination, the patient may require a second surgery to remove the remaining lymph nodes. --Click the title of this post to read the full article from its source--

Revolutionary Breast Cancer Screening Device

A Utah company has come up with such a revolutionary new device for screening breast cancer that it's getting a rare government grant of almost three million dollars to continue development. Right now, this new screening and diagnostic device has everything going for it. It requires no compression, no squeezing of the breasts, no discomfort to the woman. And, it's radiation free. The National Institutes of Health is so impressed that it's giving a Utah company called Techniscan 2.8 million dollars a rare event, and one of NIH's largest small business grants. Why so much interest? This system allows the patient to comfortably lie face down. The breast is suspended in warm water while the ultrasound scanner rotates in a circle, producing detailed 3-D images. --Click the title of this post to read the full article from its source--

Veridex Receives FDA Approval for Breast Cancer Test Kit

Research and diagnostic technology company Immunicon on Friday announced that Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Veridex has received FDA approval to market its CellSearch Circulating Tumor Cell Kit, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. CellSearch is aimed at earlier detection of metastatic breast cancer that has spread to other parts of the body, according to the Inquirer. CellSearch uses blood samples to identify and count tumor cells in the body (Loyd, Philadelphia Inquirer, 12/15). Immunicon has an agreement with Veridex to sell the test .--Click the title of this post to read the full article from its source--

New breast cancer scanner approved

A promising new breast scanning technology with none of the radiation dangers associated with mammograms has been approved for sale by Health Canada. Known as SoftScan, the device uses infrared lasers to detect and monitor malignancies, even in dense breast tissue that mammography can fail to penetrate. The new machine will not replace mammograms, which will continue to be the standard tool for pinpointing breast cancers for the foreseeable future, said Dr. Nathalie Duchesne, a professor of radiology at Quebec City's Laval University. "There are no side effects to this technology," said Duchesne, who has worked in clinical trials with SoftScan for nearly a decade and is a paid consultant for Advanced Research Technologies Inc., which makes the machines. --Click the title of this post to read the full article from its source--

Breast cancer may be sexually transmitted

A new study has revealed that breast cancer could be sexually transmitted. Emeritus Professor James Lawson of the University of New South Wales and colleagues have found the same form of the human papillomavirus (HPV) associated with cervical cancer in almost half the breast tumor samples they tested. It`s the first study of its kind in Australia, although international studies have also found cervical cancer-related HPV in breast cancer cells. He says while the evidence is far from conclusive, "it`s possible and totally worthy of investigation" to suspect that HPV could also cause breast cancer. Lawson says it`s possible that HPV is spread by sexual activity or during showers or baths, when the virus could be transferred from the genital area to the breasts via the nipple ducts. --Click the title of this post to read the full article from its source--

Some breast cancer invisible to mammograms

You've heard the warnings about breast cancer - how early detection and annual mammograms can save your life. But, did you know there is a type of breast cancer that does not show up on standard tests? This type of breast cancer is an unknown killer. It's a no show on a mammogram. It's very aggressive, and if you are not paying attention to your body, you may not discover you have it until it is too late. --Click the title of this post to read the full article from its source--

Oncotype DX™ Contracts with Aetna

Aetna Health, one of the nation's largest health benefits companies, has formed an agreement with Genomic Health to establish pay rates for the use of Oncotype DX™. This agreement establishes payment rates for all of Aenta's plans for eligible members with early-stage breast cancer. Ultimately, this contract will cover an estimated 80 million people. Node-negative, early breast cancer refers to cancer that has not spread from the breast to other sites in the body, including lymph nodes under the arms. Although chemotherapy is recommended for many women with early-stage, node-negative breast cancer, the benefit of chemotherapy varies. Identifying in advance those women who are most likely to benefit from chemotherapy may allow for more individualized treatment. As a result, women who are unlikely to benefit from chemotherapy could avoid the unwanted side effects of treatment, while women who would benefit from chemotherapy could be treated accordingly. --Click the title of this post to read the full article from its source--

New Ultrasound Technique Accurately Distinguishes Benign From Malignant Breast Lesions

A new ultrasound technique allows radiologists to accurately distinguish benign from malignant breast lesions. Using elasticity imaging, researchers correctly identified both cancerous and harmless lesions in nearly all of the cases studied. The findings were presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). "In our work, elasticity imaging has been found to have high specificity," said Richard G. Barr, M.D., Ph.D., professor of radiology at Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine and radiologist at Southwoods X-Ray and MRI in Youngstown. "If our results can be reproduced in a large, multicenter trial, this technique could significantly reduce the number of breast biopsies required." --Click the title of this post to read the full article from its source--

North American Scientific gets FDA nod for breast cancer device

Radiation therapy products developer North American Scientific Inc. (NASI.O: Quote, Profile, Research) said it received U.S. regulatory marketing approval for its high-dose rate radiation treatment design of ClearPath, a breast cancer treatment device. The company had received clearance from the Food and Drug Administration to market the low-dose rate system in April. (Reporting by Ankur Relia in Bangalore) --Click the title of this post to read the full article from its source--