Simple test for breast cancer identifies early-stage disease

Simple test for breast cancer identifies early-stage disease
Results published in American Cancer Society journal Cancer 


TORONTO, July 22  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- IMI International Medical
Innovations Inc. (TSX:IMI; Amex: IME) today announced that the clinical trial
results for the company's breast cancer test have been published in the
prestigious American Cancer Society journal Cancer.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women, other than skin cancer.
About 215,990 women in the U.S. are expected to be diagnosed with invasive
breast cancer in 2004, and about 40,110 women will die from the disease.(1)
Breast cancer is the leading cause of death in women between the ages of 40 and
55(2). When breast cancer is detected early at a localized stage, the five-year
survival rate is 97%.(3)

The data showed that IMI's test demonstrated a statistically significant
difference between early-stage breast cancer and non-cancerous samples (Paired
T-Test = 0.001), which demonstrates the test's effectiveness in identifying
early-stage disease. The study, conducted at The University of Texas M. D.
Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, evaluated the galactose oxidase-Schiff
reaction on 46 samples of nipple aspirate fluid from cancerous and healthy
breasts.

The paper, Prospective Evaluation of a Novel Approach for the Use of a
Quantitative Galactose Oxidase-Schiff Reaction in Ductal Fluid Samples from
Women with Breast Carcinoma, was co-authored by Anees Chagpar, MD, M.Sc.,
Herbert A. Fritsche Jr., PhD, Savitri Krishnamurthy, MD, Kelly K. Hunt, MD and
Henry M. Kuerer, MD, PhD of the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, and Michael
Evelegh, PhD, of IMI.

"Our simple, painless and minimally-invasive test for breast cancer
successfully identified early-stage disease," said Dr. Brent Norton, IMI
President and CEO. "A majority of breast cancers originate in the breast ducts,
which is where nipple aspirate fluid comes from, so it's a logical sample to
target. We are now working to expand clinical data through larger studies."

Dr. Norton continued, "Being published in Cancer, which is an
internationally-renowned peer-reviewed journal, is an important achievement for
IMI. This encouraging data will help generate awareness and further discussion
of IMI's novel breast cancer test as a potentially promising new approach to
screening for this deadly disease."

IMI's breast cancer test identifies a cancer-associated sugar in a sample of
nipple-aspirate fluid, which is derived from the mammary ducts and expressed
through the nipple. This test is based on a modified version of the company's
ColorectAlert(TM) and LungAlert(TM) technology, which identify the same
cancer-associated sugar in samples of rectal mucus and sputum respectively.

  ------------------------------------------
  (1) American Cancer Society
  (2) U.S. National Breast Cancer Foundation
  (3) American Cancer Society

  About IMI


IMI is a world leader in predictive medicine, dedicated to developing rapid,
non-invasive tests for the early detection of life-threatening diseases. IMI's
cardiovascular products, which are branded as PREVU(x) Coronary Heart Disease
Predictor, will be marketed and distributed worldwide by McNeil Consumer
Healthcare (J&J). The company's cancer tests include ColorectAlert(TM),
LungAlert(TM) and a breast cancer test. IMI's head office is located in
Toronto, and its research and product development facility is at McMaster
University in Hamilton, Ontario. For further information, please visit
http://www.imimedical.com/.

This release contains forward-looking statements that reflect the company's
current expectations regarding future events. The forward-looking statements
involve risks and uncertainties. Actual events could differ materially from
those projected herein and depend on a number of factors including, but not
limited to, changing market conditions, successful and timely completion of
clinical studies, uncertainties related to the regulatory approval process,
establishment of corporate alliances and other risks detailed from time to time
in the company's quarterly, annual and other regulatory filings. 

DATASOURCE: IMI International Medical Innovations Inc.



CONTACT: Sarah Borg-Olivier, Director, Communications,

T: [phone], ; Dr. Brent Norton, President

and CEO, T: [phone], 

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