Health & Fitness
Health and Fitness
Health and Fitness
Tue, June 15, 2010 More Centers Adopt IsoRay's Revolutionary Isotope for the Treatment of Lung Cancers
RICHLAND, WA--(Marketwire - June 15, 2010) - IsoRay, Inc. (
[ Brachytherapy ] is a type of [ radiation therapy ] that is used to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Known as internal radiation therapy, radioactive material is placed next to or inside the tumor. However, not all seed Brachytherapy radioisotopes are the same. Cesium-131 Brachytherapy seed gives physicians and their patients a new choice in treatment with important benefits.
At the Curtis and Elizabeth Anderson Cancer Institute, a part of the Memorial University Medical Center (MUMC) in Savannah, Georgia, Radiation Oncologist Dr. John Duttenhaver chose innovative Cesium-131 Brachytherapy seeds for treatment because of the benefits, "The shorter half life of the isotope allows patients to go home and spend more extended time with their family. The fact that the radiation will decay faster is a big advantage for patients like these," he explained. He also said there is a safety advantage that extends beyond the patient because Cesium-131 has a soft energy that minimizes radiation exposure for the operating room and support staff as well as the patient's family members.
A team of physicians at WellSpan Health's York Cancer Center in York, Pennsylvania is also using Cesium-131, because of the new options it offers in lung cancer treatment. Radiation Oncologist Dr. Amit Shah, Thoracic Surgeon Dr. Brian Pettiford, and Jadwiga Wojcicka, Ph.D., Director of Medical Physics, worked together using Cesium-131. "Interoperative Brachytherapy with Cesium-131 offers a method to target radiotherapy to reduce local recurrences (of cancer) without excessive radiation to the remaining lung tissue. Cesium-131 offers several advantages by allowing radiation to be delivered in a shorter time period which may be helpful in higher grade tumors," said Dr. Shah.
Dr. Pettiford underscored the importance of Cesium-131 for high risk patients. "The thoracic surgeons and radiation oncologists at York Hospital have developed this collaborative effort to make the therapy available to those patients with early stage tumors who would otherwise be deemed inoperable due to poor functional status," he said.
IsoRay's pioneering Cesium-131 is already successfully being used to treat lung cancer patients at New York Hospital Queens and at New York Presbyterian's Weill Cornell Medical Center, where renowned Radiation Oncologist Dr. Bupesh Parashar continues to use Cesium-131 to treat his lung cancer patients.
A recent article detailed New York Hospital Queens' treatment of a lung cancer patient with Cesium-131 seeds by internationally recognized Radiation Oncologist Dr. Dattatreyudu Nori, one of the world's leading authorities on Brachytherapy, and Vice Chairman of Cardiothoracic Surgery Dr. Paul C. Lee. Read Weill Cornell's story at
[ http://www.news-medical.net/news/20091218/Brachytherapy-for-lung-cancer.aspx ]
IsoRay CEO Dwight Babcock said it's all about offering new hope for cancer patients and their families. "We are proud to contribute to the battle against cancer. We are going to continue to partner with the medical community across the country to expand centers using Cesium-131 to treat lung cancers while working to make it available for use in the fight against aggressive tumors in other areas of the body." Babcock says he expects more important milestones in the application of Cesium-131 to follow.
In addition to lung cancers, more than 100 centers across the country are using Ceium-131 to treat colon, head and neck, ocular melanoma, and prostate cancers.
About IsoRay
IsoRay, Inc., through its subsidiary, IsoRay Medical, Inc., is the sole producer of Cesium-131 Brachytherapy seeds, which are expanding Brachytherapy options throughout the body. Learn more about this innovative Richland, Washington company and explore the many benefits and uses of Cesium-131 by visiting [ www.isoray.com ].
Safe Harbor Statement
Statements in this news release about IsoRay's future expectations, including: the advantages of our Proxcelan Cesium-131 seed, whether IsoRay will be able to continue to expand its base beyond prostate cancer, whether IsoRay's Cesium-131 seed will be used to treat additional cancers and malignant disease, whether the use of Cesium-131 to treat lung or other cancers will be successful in the initial and any future implants, and all other statements in this release, other than historical facts, are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 ("PSLRA"). This statement is included for the express purpose of availing IsoRay, Inc. of the protections of the safe harbor provisions of the PSLRA. It is important to note that actual results and ultimate corporate actions could differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements based on such factors as physician acceptance, training and use of our products, our ability to successfully manufacture, market and sell our products, our ability to manufacture our products in sufficient quantities to meet demand within required delivery time periods while meeting our quality control standards, our ability to enforce our intellectual property rights, whether additional studies are released and support the conclusions of early clinical studies, whether initial implants of Cesium-131 to treat lung or other cancers result in favorable patient outcomes, patient results achieved when Cesium-131 is used for the treatment of cancers and malignant diseases beyond prostate cancer, successful completion of future research and development activities, and other risks detailed from time to time in IsoRay's reports filed with the SEC.
