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CRANFORD, NEW JERSEY. An American engineer, Zsigmond Sagi, has developed a
temperature sensitive pad which can be used to detect breast cancer in its early
stages. The soft, lightweight pads are worn inside the bra for 15 minutes and
are then visually analyzed for telltale signs of temperature variations. The
pads record the skin temperatures across three large areas of each breast. If
an area of one breast shows a temperature 2oF or more higher than the
corresponding area of the other breast there is a high probability that a
cancerous tumor is present. Clinical trials of the pads carried out prior to
FDA approval found that they were accurate in predicting breast cancer in 80 per
cent of all women and in 90 per cent of women under 50 years of age. The pad
technology is particularly valuable for younger women where mammography is not
very accurate and is far safer and more comfortable than mammography. The
technique is, however, not suitable for women who have had a mastectomy or
lumpectomy or whose breasts are mismatched for other reasons. The presence of
mastitis or sclerosing adenosis can provide false postive readings due to the
heat generated by inflammation. A large clinical trial of the pads involving
almost 6,000 women is currently underway. This trial will compare the pad
results with the results of biopsies and the participants will be followed-up
for four years. NOTE: The pads, BreastAlert Differential Temperature Sensor,
are available to physicians from Humascan Inc., Cranford, NJ and cost
$25/pair.
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