SOCIAL TOPICS (Archive): CUTTING EDGE COMPANIES

Published, Summer 2001

       This column highlights companies in the business of providing solutions to social and environmental challenges. Featured companies are typically held in the SmallCap Innovations portfolios offered to Walden's clients.

       There are 400,000 cases of cervical cancer diagnosed each year worldwide, according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), with about 80 percent in developing countries. Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer among women after breast cancer. In the United States, there are about 60,000 new cases per year, with a disproportionate impact among women of color.

       If detected early, cervical cancer is curable. The introduction of the Pap test (named for developer Dr. George Papanicolaou) in the late 1940s significantly increased detection of cervical lesions that may cause cancer. About 50 million women are now screened annually in the United States. In 1996, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Cytyc Corporation's ThinPrep Pap Test™ as "significantly more effective" than the conventional Pap test. ThinPrep produces a significantly lower rate of false negative results. By March 2001, ThinPrep accounted for 41 percent of Pap tests in the United States, reflecting steadily growing acceptance.

       With the ThinPrep system, the collected sample is first rinsed into a vial of liquid solution by a physician, rather than smeared straight onto a slide. Proprietary ThinPrep equipment at the lab then homogenizes the sample. A filter collects the cervical cells on a slide for analysis by a cytotechnologist. Massachusetts-based Cytyc is working to develop an imager for ThinPrep Pap Tests to aid cytotechnologists in analysis of samples. Such imagers already exist for conventional Pap tests.

       According to NCI, the leading cause of cervical cancer is believed to be sexually transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV). Sexual history (self and partner's), age, smoking and lack of medical screening are among additional risk factors. About 20 percent of men and women carry HPV, which can be controlled but not cured. Most women with HPV do not develop cervical cancer. While HPV can cause genital warts, as well as vaginal, anal, and penile cancer, it is asymptomatic without a doctor's exam in most individuals, especially men. Unfortunately, the medical community treats HPV as a woman's disease: No HPV test has been developed for men, and vaccine tests under development are administered to women only.

       Cytyc has partnered with Digene Corporation to combine HPV testing into the ThinPrep system, allowing for earlier prevention in women. Another Cytyc partner has developed a test for chlamydia and gonorrhea. Cytyc also sells the ThinPrep system for non-gynecological uses.

       For more information about cervical cancer, see http://cancernet.nci.nih.gov, and for more information about women's health, see www.ourbodiesourselves.org.