• 6/13/2006
  • Larchmont, NY
  • press release
  • Genetic Engineering News (www.genengnews.com)

Intraop Medical Corporation has received encouraging reports of significant local control and survival benefits for patients with advanced head and neck cancer who received intraoperative electron radiation therapy (IOERT) as part of their treatment.

The studies were conducted at The Arthur James Cancer Center at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, one of seven U.S. centers currently equipped with a Mobetron(R). These results are significant for the Company because Intraop is the developer of the Mobetron, the world’s first and only mobile electron-beam system designed exclusively for this kind of treatment.

One study involved patients with hypopharyngeal cancer. This uncommon cancer has one of the worst prognoses for tumors of the upper aerodigestive tract, with five-year survival rates ranging from 19% to 31% when using only surgery, conventional radiation and chemotherapy. In the current study that added IOERT, the five-year survival rate was 56%, and more than 90% of the patients achieved local control of their disease.

The second study included locally advanced tumors of the oral cavity and oropharynx. Standard treatment regimens for these tumors produce four-year survival rates of less than 38%. When IOERT was added, the survival rate was 72%, and overall local control of the disease was 93%.

“Head and neck cancers are very difficult to treat because so many vital structures in this region of the body need to be preserved to provide good quality of life for the patient. These new studies are further evidence that IOERT provides unique benefits to patients with locally advanced diseases,” said Dr. Donald Goer, President and CEO of Intraop Medical. “IOERT delivers the equivalent of several weeks of conventional radiation in only a few minutes at the time of the surgical procedure to remove the tumor. Normal, healthy tissues are moved aside or protected, thus reducing the risk of damaging nearby vital structures.”

Dr. Goer concluded: “We continue to be encouraged by the ongoing reporting of clinical results in peer-reviewed journals. Additionally, positive results using IOERT with not only head and neck but a variety of cancers, including breast, gastrointestinal, genitourinary, gynecological, thoracic, orthopedic and pediatric, have lead to increased interest in the Mobetron on the part of radiation and surgical oncology specialists.”

About Intraop Medical Corporation

Intraop Medical Corporation improves the quality of life for cancer patients through the development, manufacturing and sales of its proprietary Mobetron system. The Mobetron is a mobile electron-beam accelerator designed exclusively for intraoperative electron radiation therapy (IOERT), the direct application of radiation to a tumor while a patient is undergoing cancer surgery. The system makes IOERT widely available, cost effective, and simple to deliver because it is easily transportable between operating rooms and does not require a cost-prohibitive, radiation shielded surgical suite. The system is FDA-certified for sale in the United States.