http://www.oralcancerfoundation.org/news/story.asp?newsId=1787

Weekly there are articles on both Vizilite and Velscope, both companies work hard to get their products in the news. Invariably they contain many errors. Part of the problem is that either the doctors or writer get the facts wrong, but too often this is because the manufacturers PROVIDE them with inaccurate information that contains a certain amount of marketing rhetoric. With releases coming out weekly, it can be a full time job to ride herd on the misinformation and the marketing companies. Above, at the end of the news story I wrote to the paper and the writer, in the story below to the marketing company. Here is a recent email to Dale Johnson at Zila/Vizilite about the same.

http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3479793

Too bad no one told them that public awareness and early detection will reduce the death rate faster than any kind of oral cancer research. It

Thanks again, Brian, for continuing to try to get these people to get the facts right. I read the VELscope article first and noticed everything you mentioned to them. A couple of other points, although minor, showed there was poor research done for the article:

1. They referred to the VELscope as being a "thin wand-like" device, which they obviously mixed up with ViziLite

2. The mispelled ViziLite.

Although these are minor compared the statstical misinformation etc., it just shows that they didn't do a good job in checking out the facts.

As you know, I have received and forwarded to you two papers from my ViziLite rep attacking the VELscope. Never received anything the other way around.

Thanks for continuing to be the watchdog and helping to keep theses people honest in their claims.

Jerry

I forwarded (without your name) the documents in question to Zila. They have told me that they did not authorize those statements, mailings, and are in the process of correcting (?) the situation. I suspect that given the many different people inside Zila that the reps have to answer to, that statement by management is only partly accurate. While the person pretty far up the food chain that I deal with states that he found those statements and those tactics inapropriate, someone under him above the rep did not....