Early detection has always been the No. 1 defense in the fight against breast cancer.

According to the American Cancer Society, when breast cancer is confined to the breast, the five-year survival rate is close to 100 percent. The standard of diagnosis for breast cancer is self-examination from age 20 and annual mammograms from age 40.

Unfortunately, according to a report issued by the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council, 17 percent of breast cancers in women are missed during mammography screenings. And in about one in 10 procedures, abnormal areas may be mistakenly labeled as a tumor where, in fact, none exists.

Facts such as these scare many women away from regular screenings, despite the efforts of doctors and other health experts who stress the importance of annual mammograms and regular self-examinations.

Mammography remains the main method for detecting breast cancer to date. Still, 200,000 new breast cancer cases are diagnosed in the United States annually and 40,000 women will die from the disease this year alone.

But now, new technology from Power3 Medical Products Inc. (OTC BB: PWRM.OB) is showing great potential for diagnosing breast cancer much earlier than current methods. Power 3 Medical is a leader in medical proteomics, the study of proteins in the body to detect diseases earlier, treat them more effectively and monitor the treatments better.

The company has developed the NAF Test (nipple aspirate fluid test) which it hopes will become the breast cancer test of the future. Researchers are hoping the test will be able to show whether a patient has an early indication for breast cancer years before a mammogram detects anything abnormal.

In this noninvasive test, which is currently in clinical validation trials, a drop of fluid from the nipple is analyzed to detect the presence of specific breast cancer proteins.

These protein biomarkers offer a way to determine how the breast cancer is developing, paving the way for a more accurate diagnosis and more effective drug targets.

"This discovery is fundamental to the company's continuing efforts to identify new techniques for the detecting and treating of breast cancer in its earliest stage," said Dr. Ira L. Goldknopf, chief scientific officer of Power3 Medical.