In the United States, one in eight women will develop breast cancer during their lives. Early detection is key and can potentially save many lives.
Josh LaBaer, M.D., Ph.D., Executive Director of ASU's Biodesign Institute, and researcher Karen Anderson M.D., Ph.D. believed that, by tracking the body’s immune response, they could detect cancer before the patient exhibited symptoms by identifying proteins produced when the body fights cancer. The result was Videssa® Breast, a simple blood test developed by Provista Diagnostics.
Fox 10 Phoenix interviewed Dr. LaBaer, Dr. Anderson. and Provista President and CEO, David Reese, Ph.D. to discuss the history behind the company’s lead diagnostic. Videssa Breast is the first and only blood test for the early and accurate detection of breast cancer.
“We were looking for something in the blood that would indicate the presence of cancer at its earliest stages," Dr. LaBaer said.
Anderson said their research started with an interest in how the immune system was seeing and reacting to breast cancer. Dr. Reese discussed the impact of the test for patients.
"No scalpel, no needle to take the tissue out,” Dr. Reese said. "We just draw a tube of blood. [Unnecessary biopsies] are a tremendous amount of expense to the system," said Reese. "It's a tremendous amount of time for the woman. It's very inconvenient. It can cause a lot of anxiety. This is what we want to reduce."
Videssa Breast is meant to be used as a complementary tool to imaging and can pick up cancer a mammogram or other imaging might miss. Patient Lisa Cook also shared her experience with using Videssa Breast, "I have to continue to go for mammograms," Cook said. "I continually get an abnormal mammogram, which means I have to go back for additional mammography and ultrasounds. I don't have to worry about the fact is this cancer or is this not cancer.”
To watch the Fox 10 Phoenix interview on Videssa Breast, and learn about the importance of early detection, please visit http://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/arizona-news/252297775-story
