Healthy Living
AMAS
By David Perlmutter, MD, FACN
The FDA has granted permission to market the Anti-Malignin Antibody in Serum, or AMAS test. This patented blood test will likely revolutionize cancer detection and treatment. Developed in 1974, by Harvard trained research Neurochemist Samuel Bogoch, MD PhD, this test measures the body's production of an antibody produced in response to the presence of Malignin, a chemical marker for a variety of cancers. The idea of a cancer screening test is certainly not new. We are all familiar with the PSA screening test for prostate cancer, and the CEA test for colo-rectal cancer. What is unique about the AMAS test, is its reported ability to detect virtually all types of cancers.
Today, when trying to detect cancer in its early stages, your doctor may perform a physical examination and a variety of laboratory tests including chest x-ray, sigmoidoscopy, CT scans, mammograms, pap tests, prostate biopsies, to name a few. Tomorrow, these tests may be unnecessary unless the AMAS is abnormal.
The AMAS test may prove to be the most sensitive way of determining whether or not a particular cancer treatment program has been curative or not. Research demonstrates that when cancer surgery has been curative, the AMAS value returns to normal. Should any cancer remain, the AMAS test will remain elevated. This will allow oncologists the ability to recommend further cancer treatment only for those patients who need it, and avoid over treating those who do not. The usefulness of the AMAS test to determine if a cancer has been cured has perhaps been best studied in breast cancer. To date, over 1,000 breast cancer patients have been followed with the AMAS test. Results show convincingly that breast cancer cannot be presumed to be in remission unless the AMAS levels are in the normal range.
In studies of more than 6,000 patients, it has been shown that the AMAS test is accurate 95% of the time and 99% if repeated. This test will have an important impact on the economics of medicine since most physicians will not need to order typical cancer screening tests such as the PSA, CEA, stool blood tests, mammograms, etc. unless the AMAS test is positive. Further, it is quite likely that Life and Disability insurance companies will require the AMAS test before underwriting a new policy.
But the best news of all is that although your doctor has probably not heard of the AMAS test, it is easily available to you. A blood specimen is sent to Dr. Bogoch's Oncolab, Inc., in Boston. The laboratory requires specific medical information as well as a signature from physician and patient. The cost is $125.00 plus $30.00 for handling. The specimen must be frozen and shipped over night to Boston.
To learn more about the AMAS test, call 1-800-9CA-TEST.