Halo Healthcare said today it will exclusively license technology from the University of North Dakota aimed at developing biomarkers for early detection of breast cancer. The licensed UND technology is based on detecting cancer biomarkers in breast nipple aspirate fluid (NAF), the platform used by Halo Healthcare for its HALO® Breast Test for breast cancer risk assessment.
Halo Healthcare says the technology holds promise for allowing early breast cancer detection testing annually, years before the disease is visible by mammography or other imaging technologies used for breast cancer screening.
“This empowering breakthrough technology will enable physicians to find and treat breast cancer at a very early stage so all women can be spared the devastating effects of later-staged breast cancer,” France Dixon Helfer, President and CEO of Halo Healthcare, said in a statement.
The company’s HALO Breast Pap Test is the first fully automated noninvasive breast disease–screening device for use in physicians’ offices, and has been FDA-cleared for collection of NAF. As with the Pap test for cervical cancer, HALO looks for cellular changes years before breast cancer is detectable by mammographic imaging.
