Saliva test to detect breast cancer under study

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Saliva test to detect breast cancer under study

By Kathleen Doheny

SAN DIEGO, Mar 07 (Reuters Health) - A simple and inexpensive saliva test

may detect breast cancer in its early stages, according to US researchers

who have studied the approach for 5 years.

The test, which is being developed commercially by a Wisconsin company,

identifies and measures the levels of a tumor marker called c-erbB-2, which

is also known as HER2/neu, in a woman's saliva. When HER2/neu is elevated,

it strongly suggests the presence of breast cancer, according to Dr.

F. Streckfus of the University of Mississippi Medical Center in , who

will present the findings Saturday at the International Association for

Dental Research annual meeting in San Diego.

Working on what Streckfus calls an " educated hunch, " his team isolated a

soluble salivary form of the HER2/neu protein. They then evaluated more than

125 patients--including some with breast cancer, some with benign tumors,

and some healthy " control " patients--and found that elevated saliva levels

of HER2/neu correlated with breast malignancies in 87% of cases.

High levels of the marker in saliva also correlate with high levels in the

bloodstream, Streckfus said. And when HER2/neu levels are not elevated, it

correlates with a benign tumor or a healthy state.

About 1,100 patients are now enrolled in advanced-stage clinical trials of

the test, according to Wundrock, president and CEO of MedicGroup in

, Wisconsin, which is developing two commercial versions of the

saliva test.

MedicGroup hopes to apply to the Food and Drug Administration for approval

for both tests by year's end and to have both on the market by the end of

2003. The test is expected to be inexpensive, but exact costs are yet to be

determined.

The saliva tests are seen by the developers as a supplement to physical

examination and mammography. Besides aiding in breast cancer detection, the

test could also potentially help doctors monitor treatment and perform

follow-up screening, Streckfus said.