For Immediate Release

October 25, 2004

Mercy Women’s Center Studies New Breast Cancer Detection Tool

Oklahoma City—Mercy Women’s Center is among four sites in the nation taking part in a new study to determine whether a tiny drop of fluid from the nipple can be used to detect early breast cancer.

The nipple aspirate fluid test (NAFTest™), developed by the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and Power3 Medical, is a unique approach to diagnosing early breast cancer. Study participants provide a drop of nipple fluid, obtained with a breast pump. The fluid is then analyzed to detect the presence of specific breast cancer proteins.

“After two decades of widespread screening mammography, the mortality rate of breast cancer in the U.S. has barely dropped,” said Dr. Alan Hollingsworth, medical director of Mercy Women’s Center and principal investigator of the study. “Even then, the decline has only been seen in the last few years so the improvement may largely be due to more aggressive therapy rather than early detection with mammography. Granted, less than half of women get mammograms regularly, but the greater concern is that mammograms miss too many cancers, especially in women with dense breast tissue. And, so-called ‘early detection’ may not be early enough. We need additional testing to give mammography the boost it needs – using ductal fluid, blood, or even urine, to alert us to those cancers that are being missed by mammography.”

For the study, participants also provide a blood sample that will be used to research the next logical step – developing a screening blood test for the early detection of breast cancer, based on protein patterns utilized in the NAFTest. In addition, Dr. Hollingsworth will also provide to the Texas group blood specimens that have been collected from women undergoing breast MRI at Mercy Women’s Center. Research on ductal fluid has been ongoing for more than 30 years, but interest has piqued recently due to the revolution in proteomics – the ability to identify hundreds, even thousands, of protein markers in very small amounts of body fluids and tissues. The M.D. Anderson research that led to development of the NAFTest was published in the December 2002 issue of Cancer.

“A test like this could provide another option for women considered ‘too young’ to get screening mammograms, but not too young to develop breast cancer,” said Dr. Hollingsworth. “If this test were positive, but mammograms showed up negative (or not performed), we would then be alerted to perform tests such as breast MRI that would not ordinarily be part of routine screening. And by doing this, we could catch breast cancer earlier, giving women a better chance of survival.”

Participants in the study will include patients being screened and diagnosed at Mercy Women’s Center.

Mercy Health Center is a member of Mercy Health System of Oklahoma and the Sisters of Mercy Health System-St. Louis.