Another option for early cancer detection
In the 1/9/02 e-Alert we started talking about alternative breast cancer screening methods that can replace or complement mammography. I told you about the option of infrared imaging, an early breast cancer screening option that can reveal pre-cancerous activity even before a tumor forms. Today I’ll tell you about another option for early cancer detection, one that shows great promise in predicting malignancy.
We learned of this procedure from Dr. William Campbell Douglass II, an editor with HSI’s parent company, Agora. In the January 2002 issue of his newsletter, Real Health, Dr. Douglass explained why he is no fan of mammograms, but that he is excited about the possibilities of this relatively unknown early detection tool.
99 percent accuracy from one simple blood test
It’s called the Anti-malignan Antibody in Serum test (AMAS). Malignin is a peptide found in people with a wide range of cancers. If the anti-malignan antibody in detected in the blood, it means that the body detected the presence of this peptide, and launched an immune response against it. Clinical studies have shown that the AMAS test is up to 95 percent accurate on the first reading, and up to 99 percent accurate after two readings.
In one study at Beth Israel Hospital in New York, the AMAS test demonstrated amazing accuracy. Within the study group of 125 people, the test was positive for 21 people who were later confirmed to have cancer, while it was negative for 97 people who showed no signs of cancer. The remaining seven people produced positive readings on the AMAS test but showed no signs of cancer; yet the study notes that all were symptomatic, had a family history of cancer, or both – indicating that the AMAS test may have detected a problem that conventional screening methods could not find.
Not just for breast cancer – AMAS can detect nearly any type of cancer
Note that the AMAS test is not specific to breast cancer; in fact, it can be used to detect all types of cancer. A positive reading indicates that there are cancerous cells in your body, but it cannot specify the type or the location. But as with the infrared imaging procedure I wrote about yesterday, it offers a good alternative for routine screening. With such high accuracy rates, a negative AMAS reading means that a mammogram or other screening procedure is not necessary. And a positive reading would be followed by additional tests anyway – so its lack of specificity doesn’t pose any real obstacles.
AMA was first discovered in the mid-1980s, and the AMAS test has been available for over a decade – but still, most doctors are unaware of it. If you are interested in taking the AMAS test, talk to you doctor. Ask him to check out the information on www.AmasCancerTest.com, and to call 1-800-922-8378 to request a packet of scientific peer-reviewed literature demonstrating AMAS’ benefits.
Copyright 1997-2002 by Institute of Health Sciences, L.L.C.
