DOW JONES NEWSWIRES 
 

Electro-Optical Sciences Inc. (MELA) announced positive results of its key trial for MelaFind, an instrument that assists in the early detection of melanoma.

As a result, the medical device company expects to file its approval application with the Food and Drug Administration "shortly."

Investors applauded the announcement, sending Electro-Optical shares surging 70.3% to $6.01 in recent trading. But that price is still only the level the stock was at in September.

MelaFind is a hand-held imaging device that emits light of multiple wavelengths to capture images of suspicious pigmented skin lesions and extract data. Almost half of the melanomas in the study were melanoma in situ, the most curable form but the most difficult to detect.

Melanoma is a deadly form of skin cancer, which is responsible for about 80% of skin cancer fatalities. Gary D. Monheit, an associate clinical professor of dermatology at the University of Alabama and the trial's lead investigator, noted early detection is key to treating melanoma. Although no cure is currently available for advanced-stage melanoma, if caught early it is virtually 100% curable.

The study, conducted at seven locations across the U.S., included 1,831 pigmented skin lesions from 1,383 patients, making it the largest prospective study conducted in melanoma detection.

MelaFind detected 112 of 114 melanomas that were eligible and evaluatable, and 125 of 127 melanomas overall. MelaFind's specificity, or ability to accurately rule out disease, was higher than that of a parallel study by a different group of 39 dermatologists, at a rate of 9.5% compared with 3.7%.

-By John Kell, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5285; john.kell@dowjones.com