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Onco Detectors International Announces New Blood Test for Detecting Cancer
BETHESDA, MD -- August 28, 2006 -- Onco Detectors International, announced the release of a new blood test for detecting cancer.
Researchers found Migration Inhibitory Factor (MIF) to be present at higher levels in the blood of people with some cancers. Onco Detectors developed the "MIF Assay kit" which will be used by laboratories for detecting high levels of MIF in blood serum. The test may be used alone or in combination with other diagnostic tests to provide greater certainty in the diagnosis of cancer. The test is currently registered for research use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Elliot A. Segal, President of Onco Detectors, stated that, "MIF Assay will provide greater sensitivity and specificity to current testing standards, potentially providing the opportunity to improve patient care."
More research is being done to determine the utility of MIF as a help to clinicians in diagnosing and monitoring treatment. Early studies have shown MIF to be a positive marker for several cancers including prostate, bladder, breast, and ovarian cancers.
"MIF has been shown to be an independent biomarker from PSA for prostate cancer, but when combined with PSA the sensitivity increases to over 90% accuracy," stated Harold Haines, PhD, president and founder of South Florida BioAssociates and former Professor of Pathology at the University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, Florida. "MIF Assay sensitivity is over 70% accurate for bladder and ovarian cancers and is over-expressed in early stage I and II ovarian cancer, as well as stages III and IV; thus it may improve the current Ca125 testing standard."
The MIF Assay has been evaluated at The Veterans Affairs Bay Pines, Florida facility for prostate and bladder cancer, at the University of Michigan for prostate cancer, and at Yale University for ovarian cancer. In all these studies, the levels of MIF were significantly higher in patients with cancer.
In addition to cancer, MIF appears to be over-expressed for several other medical conditions in which inflammation is a component, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, endometriosis, and type I diabetes.
SOURCE: Onco Detectors International
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