Chromavision Contends System Detects Tumors

Chromavision Medical Systems Inc. said a pilot study showed its automated cellular imaging system, combined with enrichment techniques, accurately detected tumor cells in the blood of patients suffering breast cancer.

The San Juan Capistrano company said the study provided no false positives in the 25 patients who did not have cancer and detected tumor cells in the blood of 19, or 76%, of the 25 patients with cancer.

Chromavision, which makes color-based automated microscopes that screen blood for abnormal cells, said the enrichment techniques allow samples of 100 million cells or more to be analyzed on just one or two slides.

The company said it is continuing with the definitive phase of a clinical study that compares the cellular imaging system/enrichment technique with other existing techniques, including mammography.

Shares of Chromavision dipped 2 cents to $3.95 in Nasdaq trading.