ANCHOR LEAD:
OVARIAN CANCER. THE DEADLY DISEASE CAN BE TOUGH TO DIAGNOSE.... OFTEN TIMES, ITS VAGUE SYMPTOMS DON'T SHOW UP UNTIL THE DISEASE HAS PROGRESSED. BUT HEADS UP! THERE IS MOUNTING RESEARCH ON A BLOOD TEST THAT LEADING DOCTORS SAY MAY NOT ONLY DETECT THE CANCER EARLIER ...BUT MAY ALSO PREVENT MANY PAINFUL AND UNNECCESARY SURGERIES. WITH THIS IMPORTANT HEALTH ALERT, HERE'S ___________.

TRACK ONE Length: 08
CLAIRE TIPTON SAYS FOR HER, EVERY DAY IS A GIFT. SEVEN YEARS AGO, DOCTORS TOLD HER SHE WAS IN THE ADVANCED STAGES OF LUNG AND OVARIAN CANCER.

SOT
KEY @: 09 Claire Tipton, Ovarian Cancer Patient
"I was given a terminal diagnosis."

TRACK TWO Length: 02
SWELLING IN HER NECK LED TO A BIOPSY, C-T SCAN... AND BLOOD TESTS INCLUDING ONE FOR A BIOMARKER CALLED C-A-ONE-TWENTY-FIVE.

SOT
Length: 01(Claire Tipton, Ovarian Cancer Patient)
"It's just one prick...."

TRACK THREE Length: 05
THAT ONE PRICK TESTS FOR PROTEINS WHOSE BEHAVIOR CAN SIGNAL THE PRESENCE OR ABSENCE OF CANCER.

SOT
KEY @: 27 Dr. Marty McIntosh, Cancer Researcher
"At every front biomarkers are playing a key role."

TRACK FOUR Length:16
DR. MARTY MCINTOSH (MAC-IN-TOSH) WITH THE FRED HUTCHINSON CANCER RESEARCH CENTER SAYS WHILE CA-125 IS THE BEST OPTION RIGHT NOW, IT PRODUCES MANY FALSE POSITIVES...
THAT'S WHY RESEARCHERS ARE SO EXCITED ABOUT A BIOMARKER CALLED H-E-FOUR. A GROWING NUMBER OF STUDIES NOW SHOW IT'S MUCH MORE ACCURATE.

SOT
KEY @: 48 Dr. Marty McIntosh, Cancer Researcher
"HE-4 appears to be on its own to be as sensitive as CA-125 for identifying ovarian cancer, but does not seem to make very many mistakes in a benign ovarian disease."

TRACK FIVE Length: 16
MEANING FEWER FALSE POSITIVES...AND FEWER UN-NECESSARY PROCEDURES.
RIGHT NOW BIOMARKER TESTING FOR OVARIAN CANCER IS DONE AFTER SYMPTOMS APPEAR. DR. MACINTOSH SAYS H-E-FOUR IS BEING TESTED TO SEE IF IT'S EFFECTIVE IN EARLY DETECTION AND SHOULD BECOME ROUTINE ONE DAY.

SOT
KEY @: 1:11 Dr. Marty McIntosh, Cancer Researcher
"Predicting whether or not you have the disease and it's very early, or even once you have a disease helping you predict what treatments may respond."

TRACK SIX Length: 10
AND EARLY DIAGNOSIS IS KEY TO SURVIVAL.
RIGHT NOW CLAIRE IS RESPONDING TO CHEMOTHERAPY AND IS IN STABLE CONDITION. SHE HAS A POSITIVE OUTLOOK ON LIFE...AND ON THE FUTURE OF H-E-FOUR.

SOT
KEY @: 1:29 Claire Tipton, Ovarian Cancer Patient
"It sounds like it's a tremendous opportunity for people to avoid going through all kinds steps they may not need to."

ANCHOR TAG:
DR. MACINTOSH SAYS THAT A BLOOD TEST FOR THE BIOMARKER H-E-FOUR MAY BE AVAILABLE IN AS FEW AS FIVE YEARS...OR AS MANY AS TEN.

SOURCE INFORMATION:

Marty McIntosh, PhD
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
1100 Fairview Avenue North
Seattle, WA 98109
Media Contact: Dean Forbes, Media Relations Manager
Phone: (206) 667-2896
E-Mail: dforbes@fhcrc.org

Dr. Marty McIntosh is an Assistant Member of the Cancer Prevention Faculty at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. His research focus is on tumor biomarkers, cancer screening, and cancer genetics.