Doctors Develop a Better way to Detect Skin Cancer

 
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Verisante Aura uses laser to diagnose skin cancer in less than two seconds, saving lives and healthcare costs
Dr. Harvey Lui, a well–known dermatologist in Vancouver, has seen the same story play out for thousands of worried patients waiting for a skin cancer diagnosis.
First, a potentially long wait to see a dermatologist followed by a medical exam and a decision to biopsy based on limited tools. Patients then waited days to hear whether biopsied lesions are cancerous.
He recognized that the lengthy process did not serve patients well and potentially left them with a biopsy scar – even if they did not have skin cancer.
So Dr. Lui and two colleagues at the BC Cancer Agency and Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) – Drs. David McLean and Haishan Zeng – started work on a new tool that they hoped would be an innovative technology that could determine whether a lesion is cancerous or not in a non–invasive manner. Now known as the Verisante Aura, the device can detect a malignant melanoma or other type of skin cancer in less than two seconds by shinning a ray of light on it.
“With the current lack of tools available, diagnosing malignant melanoma – the most deadly form of skin cancer – can be challenging for even the most experienced dermatologist. Clearly, a new tool such as the Verisante Aura was desperately needed to improve patient care and detection procedures, and provide immediate diagnosis,” said Dr. Lui, head and professor in the Department of Dermatology and Skin Science at the University of British Columbia and director of the world–renowned Skin Care Centre at VGH.
When available in Canada in fall 2011, the Verisante Aura will help patients avoid unnecessary biopsies and doctors detect more early–stage cancers that sometimes go undiagnosed until it's too late. Developed over more than 10 years at the BC Cancer Agency, theVerisante Aura has been tested on approximately 1,000 lesions at the Skin Care Centre at VGH.
The need for better technology for the detection of skin cancer – the most common form of cancer – is immediate and significant. Early detection dramatically increases rates of survival and reduces healthcare costs. In fact, when melanoma is diagnosed in its earliest stage, patients have a 99 per cent chance of survival. Survival drops to 15 per cent when melanoma is diagnosed after it has metastasized and the cancer has spread.
“The Verisante Aura is also a safe device that a nurse or physician's assistant could hopefully use to scan every mole on a patient's body quickly and efficiently before a doctor reviews the results to decide whether a certain lesion should be biopsied or not,” said Dr. Lui. “An extensive scan with theVerisante Aura can be completed in 10 to 15 minutes, thereby improving the efficiency of diagnosis.”Verisante Technology, Inc., a Vancouver–based medical device company, has an exclusive licensing agreement with the BC Cancer Agency for rights to manufacture and market the Verisante Aura, which is expected to receive Health Canada approval this year.