UCI Medical School Leads the Path in Adopting First New Cervical-Screening Procedure in More Than 50 Years Into Its Teaching Curriculum

Business Wire, Dec 22, 1999

Business Editors/Health & Education Writers

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 22, 1999

Residents Being Trained to Do PapSure(TM) Exams,

Now Shown to Nearly Double the Accuracy Level

of the Standard Pap Smear Test

Amid ongoing questions regarding the reliability of the standard Pap smear test, the medical school of the University of California at Irvine is the first to adopt the new PapSure(TM) test into its resident teaching program.

This new Food and Drug Administration-cleared in vivo cervical screening test has been proved to have an accuracy level of 90 percent, compared with just 50 percent for the standard 50-year-old Pap smear. With the adoption of this test as part of medical residents' training, PapSure is likely to become a part of routine gynecological exams in the near future.

Made available through the Southern California-based Trylon Corp., PapSure has been clinically tested on more than 10,000 women and is the only in vivo cervical screening test available to date.

According to Dr. Vivian Dickerson, director of General Obstetrics and Gynecology at UC Irvine: "Cervical cancer is nearly 100 percent treatable when caught early. It is therefore vital for our residents to learn new techniques that improve our ability to detect disease in the earliest stages. We incorporated PapSure into our program back in March of this year."

The PapSure exam is a procedure in which a physician can directly inspect cervical tissues for abnormalities, in contrast to the Pap smear, which involves evaluating cells collected from the surface of the cervix using a laboratory microscope.

Dr. Anita Nelson, professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, who is evaluating PapSure at the university in consideration of adopting the procedure into its resident program, reported: "This fall, we initiated a study with PapSure to find out how best to use it in evaluating women whose Pap smears may indicate a problem. We see this as an important dimension to cancer screening -- one which has never been available before."

PapSure puts the diagnosis back into the doctor's hands, rather than relying exclusively on laboratory screening.

According to the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG), while the Pap smear has done much to promote cervical health, it has limitations. According to ACOG, the Pap smear alone misses nearly as much disease as it finds, giving it just a 51 percent accuracy level.

In the face of the staggering report that nearly half of the 15,000 women who develop cervical cancer each year have had a recent Pap smear, news of this new in vivo test has brought resounding approval from local physicians and gynecologists who have already incorporated this new procedure into their practice.

About The Trylon Corp.

The Trylon Corp. is a medical-device company in the forefront of advanced light technology. The corporation is committed to using dedication, innovation and education to create effective medical products that advance the quality of life worldwide.

A pioneer in bringing chemiluminescent devices to the field of medical endoscopy, using chemical light for anatomic illumination, The Trylon Corp. has most recently completed years of research and clinical trials in developing its PapSure(TM) examination, an adjunct to the Pap smear for cervical screening.

The Trylon Corp. has headquarters in Torrance, Calif.