ST. JOHN'S, N.L. -The government of Newfoundland and Labrador says that 108 patients whose breast cancer tests were misread have died.

It's the first time the province has disclosed how many people who were given an inaccurate result on their breast cancer test have died.

But provincial health minister Ross Wiseman says that a changed test result doesn't necessarily mean that appropriate cancer treatment was delayed.

In a statement issued today, Wiseman says the breast cancer test was only one factor among many that help determine a patient's course of treatment.

Wiseman also says the database used to compile the death toll doesn't specify the cause of death.

The revelation comes one day before a public inquiry is set to begin probing how more than 300 patients were given erroneous results on their breast cancer test.