An experimental test that detects a specific protein in blood samples appears to be promising as a screening test for breast cancer, the manufacturer, Matritech, Inc. of Newton, Massachusetts announced on Thursday.The test detects nuclear matrix protein (NMP), a protein that may be elevated in the blood of people with cancer. The test is approved in the US, Japan and Europe for bladder cancer screening, but not for other purposes. In a new study, the test was used in 78 women who had early or advanced breast cancer, a precancerous condition, or no cancer at all. The test correctly identified all cancer cases, and four out of five women with a precancerous condition known as ductal carcinoma in situ. ``We detected every case of cancer, and ruled out cancer for all normal samples,'' David L. Corbet, president and COO of Matritech, said. ``Based on this...we consider 'proof of concept' complete.'' However, due to the small number of specimens, which came from patients that the company knew did or did not have cancer ahead of time, Dr. Clifford Hudis, chief of breast cancer medicine services at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, expressed concerns that the test may not be accurate with larger patient populations. ``If (the test) has even a low rate of false-positive results...(and you test) a million people...then you have thousands, literally, of positive results that don't indicate cancer,'' he said in an interview with Reuters Health. False-positive results occur when a test signals the presence of a disease, but the patient does not in fact have the disease. Thanks to Reuters Health (and BreastcancerNetwork) Federation of Euro Cancer Soc., 3/02 Oncotype DX (TM) Breast Cancer Assay Hem/Onc News, posted here 4/07 3rd European Breast Cancer Conference, 3/02 Mayo Clinic, posted here 4/07 NASA press release, 9/20/01 J Nuclear Medicine, 4/02 New York Times, Editorial Page, 4/14/02 The Breast Journal, 7/03 Breast Ca Res & Treat, 3/04 DukeMed News Remember we are NOT Doctors and have NO medical training. This site is like an Encylopedia - there are many pages, many links on many topics. Support our work with any size DONATION - see left side of any page - for how to donate. You can help raise awareness of CAM.