A highly advanced technology will help University of Iowa cancer specialists test women for abnormalities in the cervix that could develop into cancer.

Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center at UI is one of five centers nationwide installing the LUMA Cervical Imaging System as part of a clinical study.

The Food and Drug Administration recently approved LUMA for use in combination with standard colposcopy exams. Preliminary research found that colposcopy combined with LUMA identified 26 percent more cases of precancerous disease than colposcopy alone.

The new unit is part of an FDA clinical study to gather more information on the effectiveness of the new technology and testing methods.

Colleen Kennedy, MD, an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at UI Hospitals and Clinics, said the system will be extremely helpful in finding abnormal cells earlier, which will in turn make treatments more effective.

The UI portion of the clinical study is supported in part by a gift from John and Mary Pappajohn of Des Moines, Iowa. The gift will eventually help pay for LUMA cervical cancer screening for women who are not able to afford the test.

John Pappajohn, a well-known Iowa venture capitalist, and his wife, Mary, are among the University's most generous supporters.

The Pappajohn Business Building, which houses the UI's Tippie College of Business, bears their name, as does the Pappajohn Pavilion at UI Hospitals and Clinics and the John and Mary Pappajohn Clinical Cancer Center.

Because of the Pappajohns' active interest in more effective cervical cancer screening, John Pappajohn contributed to the development of the LUMA technology by becoming an investor stakeholder in San Diego-based Spectra Science Inc., which makes the LUMA Cervical Imaging System.

—Tom Moore