I understand that there is a great gap to be filled by Lifeline Biotechnologies' advancements. Is that technology strictly software related? In other words, is what they're patenting the methods of taking imagery and applying algorithmic type modeling in order to eliminate the unnecessary biopsies?
Some on this board alluded to some device being developed and the imagery interpreting scenario certainly wouldn't imply that.
Lifeline Biotechnologies, Inc. Comments on the Shortcomings of the Early Detection of Breast Cancer as Reported in a National Cancer Institute Study
22 minutes ago - BusinessWire
Today, Dr. Louis Keith, Vice President and Medical Director of Lifeline Biotechnologies, Inc. (Pink Sheets:LBTN), commented on an article published online by the New England Journal of Medicine yesterday. "This publication is a top medical journal and the reported data is excellent. The study, conducted at 25 U.S. test sites, was paid for by the National Institutes of Health. As a result, the American Cancer Society suggests that high-risk women and those with diagnosed breast cancer in one breast get an MRI. This procedure can cost $2,000 or more which is not reimbursable by Medicare or private insurance carriers."
The American Cancer Society said MRI screening was cost effective for the approximately 650,000 women in the high-risk group or one percent of the 65 million women over age 40 recommended to receive mammograms every one to two years. This additional burden will cost an additional $1.3 billion to our already overtaxed health care system.
Of the vast majority of patients who have cancer in a single breast at the time of diagnosis, only about 10 percent go on to develop cancer in the opposite breast. When that happens, patients face a second round of treatment, which can include surgery, chemotherapy or radiation.
Jim Holmes, Lifeline's CEO, commented, "Reading between the lines of this new report reconfirms what Lifeline has maintained for the past 20 years: Mammographic screening leaves much to be desired."
Dr. Keith contended, "Any time a patient must rely on human interpretation of imaging data the door is open to error. The interpreter is usually no better than his mentor, and the interpretative results can be influenced by human variables, such as fatigue, etc., that can easily affect diagnostic interpretation. Interpretation of clinical data from any medical test is critical, particularly when attempting to detect a disease as deadly as cancer. These interpretations are what all physicians must continually depend upon in the practice of medicine. Because of this problem, Lifeline has worked to develop a breast cancer screening system that can eliminate the human error factor."
Dr. Keith further stated, "Lifeline appears finally to have developed a technology to identify breast cancer at its earliest stage. Some clinical testing still lies ahead of us, but the promise is clear: We are developing a technology that may well be superior to any modality presently used in breast cancer screening. The recent NCI-sponsored study looked at 969 women with recently diagnosed cancer in one breast but no cancer in the opposite breast based on a mammogram and clinical exam. All women in the study received an MRI of the opposite breast, which detected possible cancer in 121 women. A biopsy confirmed cancer in only 30 women, or 3.1 percent of those in the trial. For the remaining 91 women, biopsies were negative. This evidence demonstrates that even with an MRI, 91 unnecessary biopsies were performed, a discrepancy related to human error."
Mr. Holmes continued, "It is Lifeline's challenge to eliminate or limit these errors through the use of computer interpretation. If First Warning(TM) test data results continue to hold their accuracy, as we believe they will, after FDA approval we plan to market First Warning(TM) as an adjunct to mammography. If fully employed in breast cancer screening, it could possibly eliminate 91% of the unnecessary breast biopsies preformed each year, at a savings of approximately $2.8 billion per annum, and it could conceivably eliminate the need for the suggested additional MRIs, or another $1.3 billion. Of the approximately $138 billion spent on cancer each year, Lifeline could conceivably earn approximately $3.5 billion annually in computer reading service revenue while saving the health care service up to an additional $4.1 billion."
