Company develops X-ray test for breast cancer

SYDNEY —

A breast cancer check could soon be as simple as providing a strand of hair, according to one Australian company. The Sydney-based company, Fermiscan, has developed a world-first test that can detect breast cancer by X-raying a woman’s hair.

The test is based on earlier research conducted by Australian physicist Veronica James, who discovered that the presence of breast cancer affects the molecular structure of hair and can be detected using synchrotron X-ray technology.

In a move set to revolutionize the diagnosis of breast cancer, the test could potentially lead to increased survival and treatment options through early detection, the company said in a media release.

‘‘Given its non-invasive nature, suitability for woman of all ages and comparative accuracy relative to other screening methods available, the commercial potential is significant,’’ said the company’s managing director, David Young.

The medical breakthrough follows the recent completion of a trial involving 2,000 Australian women, where X-ray test results were compared with the current breast screening methods of mammography and ultrasound.

The trial revealed a detection success rate of 69%, with the accuracy of the test negatively affected by hair treatments such as perming, dyeing or straightening. The success rate would have increased to 75% if hairs that had been chemically treated had been excluded from the trials, Young said.

The company is optimistic that the test’s accuracy can be further improved by ensuring women have four weeks of new hair growth before being tested.

The company says that the X-ray testing method should be seen as being adjunct to current methods, not a replacement for them.

‘‘The opportunity for the test to be used in conjunction with current screening methods has the ability to not only enhance the accuracy of detection but also to potentially reduce the number of biopsies that in this study were found to be negative in 80% of cases,’’ Young said.

Although the development has been positively received by the medical community, Ian Olver, the head of the Australian Cancer Council, warned that the 69% accuracy level of the trial required further testing.

‘‘It is important at this early stage that women do not see this test as a substitute for Australia’s successful mammogram screening program, which women are encouraged to continue using,’’ he said.

The positive trial results have validated the company’s plans to commercialize the test in Australia by the end of 2008, with further clinical studies commencing in Japan and Europe within the next few months.

After conducting a feasibility study into the Japanese market in December last year, the company said it recognized significant potential for the non-invasive diagnostic test.

‘‘Early on, we identified that mammogram access and penetration was not as high in Asia,’’ Young said.

The study also revealed the rate of breast cancer in Japan was on the rise, and that out of 37 million women aged 40 years and older, only 14 million mammography tests were conducted annually.

Japan was chosen as the location to conduct clinical trials because of access to cutting edge X-ray technology, the relative affluence of the market, and a unique cultural fit.

The commencement of the clinical trials marks the beginning of a rigorous and detailed regulatory process which is expected to take between 18 months to two years. Only after this period is the company able to legally offer the test in a commercial form within Japan.

Young predicts the commercialization of the test could deliver widespread benefits and have a considerable impact on the early detection and treatment of breast cancer for the 300 million eligible women around the globe.

‘‘The is a significant opportunity in developing countries to introduce this screening test as the cost of equipment for current screening is prohibitive and the lack of screening contributes to more than half of breast cancer fatalities in the world today,’’ Young said.

He added that 1 million women were expected to be diagnosed with breast cancer and 500,000 women expected to die from breast cancer last year alone.

› Login to comment

9 Comments

NICOLE77 at 09:46 AM JST - 6th July

what a breakthrough! I am hoping something like this can be developed for Cervial Cancer checks, as the current check is quite invasive ( and therefore many woman dont get checked )
timorborder at 10:11 AM JST - 6th July

This seems like a great develop. I hope it really works.
seda at 02:32 PM JST - 6th July

I have stock in this Company! Hope it takes off.
smithinjapan at 03:30 PM JST - 6th July

Obviously I've never had nor ever will have a breast cancer screening (being a man, in case you didn't know), but I know how they work and I think that if in the future this can replace the current methods, it's excellent.

Now.... any chance of such a thing replacing a prostrate exam? Haven't had one of those yet either, but am not looking forward to.
Zen_Builder at 03:38 PM JST - 6th July

You might want to rethink that idea about breast cancer. http://www.imaginis.com/breasthealth/bcmen.asp

As for the prostate exam: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fv3oY5tpSb4
stanoue at 03:40 PM JST - 6th July

I would want the accuracy rate to be much higher before I would rely on this - I mean mammograms are mis-read a lot as well but 69-75%...
smithinjapan at 03:54 PM JST - 6th July

Stanoue: Agreed, but as the article clearly points out, they are hoping to use the results now and improve on the accuracy rate. Remember, this is just the start, and it also says that in many cases it's used as a supplement to a traditional mammogram.
smithinjapan at 03:58 PM JST - 6th July

Zen_Builder: I'm well aware men CAN get and die from breast cancer, but are you about to go get a mammogram just to be sure you don't have it? My guess is EVERY case of breast cancer found in men has been either after hospitalization for the disease and the discovery then, or post-mortem.

I'm not dissing you here at all, my man... just pointing out that in my post I said I never would get one (unless, as I said, I'm already sick and in the hospital with the disease and they figure it out and test for it).

I'm not worried about a prostate exam, nor am I getting one any time soon, but I know that you routinely should once you hit 40 or so.
stanoue at 03:59 PM JST - 6th July

I understand that - and support it. But pointing out the accuracy rate as a reason not to rely solely on the hair x-ray. I guess it's like the new vaccine here for cervical cancer - you still need regular pap smears. But that has to be the best advance in a while, I get my third and final (and govt paid) vaccine next month.