Breast Pap Test Identifies Abnormal Cells

A noninvasive Pap test identifies benign breast disease, an important risk factor for breast cancer.

The Halo breast Pap test system enables a noninvasive, five-minute procedure that is designed to test for the presence of nipple aspirate fluid (NAF). Halo breast Pap test screening occurs in the ob-gyn office, or other primary care setting using gentle suction such as a breast pump to collect samples for laboratory analysis. Unlike current methods of breast cancer screening, which are capable of detecting tumors that have already developed, the Halo breast Pap test is designed to identify patients at risk before a lesion is detectable. This may be particularly useful in younger women who are not yet getting mammograms or are at an age when mammograms are not as sensitive.

A large body of research demonstrates that testing for the presence of NAF and performing cytologic assessment of any collected NAF, can be used to identify a woman's specific risk of breast cancer. For example, a woman with atypia (abnormal cytology) in NAF has a four to five times greater risk of developing breast cancer than women who do not produce fluid.

NeoMatrix (Irvine, CA, USA) developed the fully automated Halo breast Pap test system. The system has been U.S. Food and Drug Administration- (FDA)-cleared for the collection of nipple aspirate fluid for cytologic evaluation for the determination and/or differentiation of normal versus pre-malignant versus malignant cells.


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