News Release
News Release
Women's Health Practice Is The First In Champaign To Offer A New Noninvasive Pap Test For The Breast That May Identify Breast Disease Years Earlier
Five-Minute Automatic Test Now Available To Help Identify Women at Risk For Developing Breast Cancer
Champaign, Illinois, September 1, 2007 – Dr Suzanne Trupin of Women’s Health Practice is the first physician in Champaign and all of central Illinois to offer a new Pap Test for the breast that may identify breast disease – often a precursor to cancer – years earlier than a lesion might be found on a mammogram or a self exam. Drawing on the record of one of the oldest and most successful models of health screening, the Cervical Pap Test, the HALO™ Breast Pap Test System from NeoMatrix is the first automatic, noninvasive test designed to detect abnormal cells in the breast.
“We are excited to offer this simple new test and about the potential impact it can have by providing early warning signs of breast disease and better identifying high risk women,” said Dr Trupin “The Ob-Gyn office is ideal for a breast screening tool as that’s where most women go for basic healthcare. Many current breast cancer screening tools, such as a physical exam and mammography, are geared toward finding a lump as soon as possible; the HALO is the first device to allow the Ob-Gyn to conduct a screen in their office to identify who is at risk. It’s a simple, noninvasive tool and can easily be incorporated into a well woman visit.”
Virtually all breast cancer (95 percent) originates in the ductal system of the breasts. According to a recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine, benign breast disease – which can present as abnormal cells – is an important risk factor of breast cancer. The HALO Breast Pap Test is a noninvasive, five minute procedure that is designed to test for the presence of Nipple Aspirate Fluid (NAF). A large body of research demonstrates that testing for the presence of NAF and performing cytological assessment of any collected NAF, can be used to identify a woman’s specific risk of breast cancer. For example, a woman with atypia (abnormal cytology) in NAF has a 4-5 times greater risk of developing breast cancer than women who do not produce fluid.
The HALO Breast Pap screening occurs in the ob-gyn office, or other primary care setting using gentle suction like a breast pump to collect samples for laboratory analysis. Unlike current methods of breast cancer screening, which are capable of detecting tumors that have already developed, the HALO Breast Pap Test is designed to identify patients at risk before a lesion is detectable. This may be particularly useful in younger women who are not yet getting mammograms or are at an age when mammograms are not as sensitive.
In the National Cancer Institute’s report, “The Nation’s Investment in Cancer Research 2006: Cancer Prevention, Early Detection and Prediction,” the NCI expresses a need for more accurate methods of predicting who is at high risk for developing cancer. This is particularly important in breast cancer where more than 70 percent of women who develop cancer have no known risk factors other than age.
Dr. Trupin recommends that all women over the age of 25 have the HALO Breast Pap Test to evaluate their risk of breast disease. Whether the test is administered annually will be determined by the patient’s history. The introduction of the HALO Breast Pap Test has been compared to the introduction of the Cervical Pap Test in the 1950s, which is widely credited with reducing cervical cancer death rates by more than 70% through the identification of abnormal cells in the cervix. Breast cancer develops in a similar manner to cervical cancer and progresses through identifiable cytological stages that can be detected in Nipple Aspirate Fluid. The developer of the Cervical Pap Test, Dr. George Papanicolaou, was also first to demonstrate that abnormal cells could be identified from NAF samples.
“While not all abnormal results lead to cancer, all breast cancers start as abnormal cells. Offering this test will give us the ability to identify women at risk who would otherwise remain undetected – who may not have any other risk factors,” added Dr Trupin. “By identifying these patients, we can send them to a surgeon or breast center where they can be managed as a high-risk patient, something breast specialists do routinely. The ability to identify women at risk and improve their management can have a profound impact on breast health.”
For further information about HALO Breast Pap Test System, visit www.paptestforthebreast.com.
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Suzanne Trupin, MD, FACOG
Women's Health Practice
2125 South Neil Street, Champaign, IL 61820
PHONE (217)356-3736
FAX (217) 356-5849