CFDocument PDF - less-than symbol breaks text

When displaying text using CFDocument in PDF format, if the text contains a less-than symbol ('<') NOT followed by a space character, the rest of the text does not display.

For example, this:           
     We reassured them that since it is <2cm in projected maximum diameter

Will be displayed like this:           
     We reassured them that since it is

It's as if the PFD conversion considers any less-than symbol not followed by a space as the start of a tag

Simple demo:

<cfset theText="We reassured them that since it is <2cm in projected maximum diameter">

<cfdocument format="pdf">

<cfoutput>#theText#</cfoutput>

</cfdocument>

Now I realize that we could fix this by using the HTMLEditFormat() function on the text but this occurs in many locations and would require quite a lot of work. We are currently using ColdFusion 9.02 and  plan to upgrade shortly. So I'm wondering if this problem has been fixed in newer versions.

Thanks

Bob K