Cervical cancer
is the second deadliest cancer in women, a cancer for which until now
there was no blood test and a great, unmet clinical need.
For the past fifty-five years, physicians have relied upon a relatively inaccurate tissue test*, the Pap smear, to diagnose cervical cancer.
The introduction of the CSA (Cervical Specific Antigen) blood test for the detection of cervical cancer represents a breakthrough in cancer diagnostics.
The CSA test will significantly increase early detection of the disease**, and therefore help to save lives (since treatment can be administered and the tumor eradicated before the cancer metastasizes) and help to maintain cost-effectiveness (palliative treatment is the largest portion of the cost of cancer but this amount can be significantly reduced by early diagnosis). The CSA is also the only existing test for monitoring therapy efficacy.
This test detects the CSA molecule that participates in the development of cervical cancer. Patients with cervical cancer have significantly higher levels of the molecule than do normal patients. Medical research indicates that molecular levels drop to near normal range after therapy until there is recurrent disease or metastasis.
This test is gaining recognition in the medical community and laboratory industry. Until generally accepted, the test will be a valuable adjunct to current methods. Eventually, it could replace the Pap smear as a screening tool. In areas where tissue sampling is unacceptable or the Pap smear unavailable, the CSA test could help to save even more lives.
R. Scott Foster, Ph.D.
President and CEO
Onconix Inc.
3455 University Parkway, Winston-Salem, NC 27106
Tel: (336) 408-3337
s.foster@onconix.com
http://www.Onconix.com
*The Pap smear has a lower sensitivity and specificity: 25% of results termed _atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance_ and many of these patients will develop CIN II, CIN III or cervical cancer.
**The test is highly superior to the Pap smear or HPV testing in terms of its accuracy but also, as a convenient blood test, it will be more acceptable to women who are unwilling to undergo a pelvic exam or whose cultural taboos prevent them from undergoing sample collection.
For the past fifty-five years, physicians have relied upon a relatively inaccurate tissue test*, the Pap smear, to diagnose cervical cancer.
The introduction of the CSA (Cervical Specific Antigen) blood test for the detection of cervical cancer represents a breakthrough in cancer diagnostics.
The CSA test will significantly increase early detection of the disease**, and therefore help to save lives (since treatment can be administered and the tumor eradicated before the cancer metastasizes) and help to maintain cost-effectiveness (palliative treatment is the largest portion of the cost of cancer but this amount can be significantly reduced by early diagnosis). The CSA is also the only existing test for monitoring therapy efficacy.
This test detects the CSA molecule that participates in the development of cervical cancer. Patients with cervical cancer have significantly higher levels of the molecule than do normal patients. Medical research indicates that molecular levels drop to near normal range after therapy until there is recurrent disease or metastasis.
This test is gaining recognition in the medical community and laboratory industry. Until generally accepted, the test will be a valuable adjunct to current methods. Eventually, it could replace the Pap smear as a screening tool. In areas where tissue sampling is unacceptable or the Pap smear unavailable, the CSA test could help to save even more lives.
R. Scott Foster, Ph.D.
President and CEO
Onconix Inc.
3455 University Parkway, Winston-Salem, NC 27106
Tel: (336) 408-3337
s.foster@onconix.com
http://www.Onconix.com
*The Pap smear has a lower sensitivity and specificity: 25% of results termed _atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance_ and many of these patients will develop CIN II, CIN III or cervical cancer.
**The test is highly superior to the Pap smear or HPV testing in terms of its accuracy but also, as a convenient blood test, it will be more acceptable to women who are unwilling to undergo a pelvic exam or whose cultural taboos prevent them from undergoing sample collection.
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