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To: jwk who wrote (4068)	2/21/2000 11:11:00 AM
From: sydney	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 4122

From Raging Bull Message Board: Reprint from the Toronto Star 1/27/2000 January 27, 2000 "Laser detects breast cancer Toronto firm sells mammogram alternative " By Barbara Turnbull Toronto Star Staff Reporter (Keep this paper in mind for news on this topic when doing your research) "The big squeeze may soon go bust." "The pain and uncertainty of mammograms is about to be replaced by the use of laser technology to detect breast tumours. And a Toronto company is leading the way. Cycle of Life Technologies has landed a distribution deal with the American developers of the world's first patented laser mammography system, The Star has learned. The state-of-the-art technology takes mammograms without compression or radiation and is poised for approval by the Food and Drug Administration in the United States. ``The clarity is tenfold more (than traditional mammography),' said company president Lee-Anne Gibbs. And where traditional mammography only reads the sections of the breast the machine can squeeze, the laser system reads the entire breast - including the upper quadrant, which includes the lymph nodes, Gibbs said. Cancer cells are highlighted on the screen, eliminating the need for a biopsy in almost all cases. And results are available faster, since no radiologist is required to read results, which are stored on a CD-Rom and can go directly to the doctor, she said. ``We're not having to worry about having the radiologist reading (x-rays) wrong or not picking up on deposits,' Gibbs said. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Results will be available faster, often without a need for biopsy -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ``You know instantaneously this way (if there are any cancer cells),' she added. ``There's no more discomfort (and) no more indignity.' Women lie on a scanning bed and place a breast in a chamber. The laser rotates 360 degrees around the breast, collecting data until the entire breast is scanned. At a cost that parallels traditional mammography, this technology should revolutionize breast-cancer detection, Gibbs said. Clinical trials are being conducted in Long Island, N.Y., and Virginia. The comparative studies will look at patients with specific abnormalities and compare the laser results with current imaging methods, such as x-ray mammograms, ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging. For approval, results have to be the same as, or better than, traditional mammography. That shouldn't be a problem, Gibbs said, noting that in the past two weeks there were two cases in which traditional mammography provided a diagnosis of calcium deposits, but the laser machine showed malignant tumours. A Florida-based company, Imaging Diagnostic Systems Inc., developed the technology, which takes cross-section images of the breast. ``Ours will also read through cosmetic surgery if there's leakage - traditional doesn't do it,' Gibbs said. This may prevent problems for women who have silicone implants, enabling them to be monitored to detect leakage when it starts. If all goes as expected, this technology also will be used to detect prostate cancer, Gibbs added. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The laser system is waiting for Canadian clearance -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The company needs Canadian regulatory clearance, and clinical trials are being planned to expedite the process. Gibbs' company has sole distribution rights for Canada, the Middle East, South America, eastern Europe, South Africa and several western European countries. She is currently in negotiations with hospitals in Argentina, Peru and Kuwait, with letters of intent to purchase on their way. ``We'll put laser mammography in those markets. You can get approval in Argentina a lot faster,' she noted. ``But here we are in a situation where Canada and the U. S. make us wait five and six years to have these things.' Gibbs expects FDA approval within the year, then it will only take 60 days to start shipping them.