A University of Canterbury spin-out company Tiro Lifesciences is
moving to transform breast cancer diagnosis and screening for all women. The company, which has raised $600,000 capital, has developed a zero
radiation breast cancer screening system with no restriction on age
limits.
Each year more than 570,000 New Zealanders take part in breast
screening programmes to detect cancer. New Zealand has among the
highest rates of breast cancer in the world. Breast cancer is the most
common cancer in New Zealand women, and the second most common cause of
cancer death in women, with over 2700 women diagnosed with breast cancer
and over 600 women dying from breast cancer each year.
The Christchurch-based company is working on commercially developing a
breast cancer system by making sure it integrates into clinical
workflow. Chief executive Marcus Haggers says their work has focused on
reducing screening time and has made significant progress in the last
six months.
Around 40 percent of women currently screened have breast dense
breast tissue. Women with this tissue have an increased risk of breast
cancer but are also the group most difficult to screen via X-ray
mammography.
“X-ray mammography is utilised for breast cancer screening in women
over 45 years of age. The limitation of X-ray mammography in dense
breast screening is that healthy dense tissue has virtually the same
X-ray absorption characteristics as cancerous tissue, making it
difficult or impossible to spot certain cancer cases on a mammogram
image.
“The recognition of this problem has led to new laws being introduced
in the United States, the largest medical device market in the world.
“Legally, patients must be informed of mammography’s limitations and alternative tests suggested.
Tiro Lifesciences is developing a new era of breast cancer screening.
The system does not rely on absorption of X-rays (or any other
radiation source) and is therefore free of the issues affecting X-ray
mammography in dense breast cases. We carried out a small clinical study
last year which has improved the system in preparation for a larger
clinical trial later this year.”
The medical diagnostic company last year received the first repayable
grant of $450,000 from Callaghan Innovation under its expanded business
incubator network. The University of Canterbury is a shareholder in
Tiro Lifesciences, as is Geoff Chase, a distinguished professor at the
University of Canterbury, whose team of researchers has developed the
technology.
For further information please contact:
Kip Brook
Media Consultant
Student Services and Communications
University of Canterbury
Ph: (03) 364 3325
Mobile: 027 5030 168
kip.brook@canterbury.ac.nz