thanks, lance. Just bought CELN on good news with Mass General, 0.77, 0.82
Massachusetts General Hospital Files [.15799]
Patent Application for Breast Cancer Prevention Design Using Celsion
Technology
Business/Technology Editors and Health/Medical Writers
COLUMBIA, Md.--(BW HealthWire)--Feb. 16, 1999--Celsion Corp. (OTC
BB:CELN) today announced that Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)
recently filed a patent application for a system designed to offer a
minimally invasive alternative to mastectomy.
The breast cancer prevention design is being developed at MGH
using Celsion's focused heat breast cancer treatment system. The
Company's focused heat technology incorporates proprietary
technologies licensed exclusively from several renowned engineering
and medical research institutions, including the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT).
"This could be an improvement in prophylactic breast cancer
treatment," explained Dr. Gerald Wolf, director of the Center for
Imaging and Pharmaceutical Research at MGH and principal investigator
of the Celsion clinical trials. "Now that the Company has the
necessary funding to proceed with clinical studies on human patients,
we look forward to evaluating the system's potential to eliminate the
cells that cause breast cancer."
"Rather than removing the breasts, we hope to provide a
non-surgical alternative for women with a high risk of developing
breast cancer by destroying the milk duct glands, the source of nearly
all breast tumors," Dr. Wolf continued.
Researchers at the Mayo Clinic recently reported the results of a
study, which demonstrated a 90% reduction in the chance of developing
breast cancer among moderate and high-risk women who had prophylactic
double mastectomies.
INNOVATIVE DESIGN FOR BREAST CANCER PREVENTION
MGH intends to conduct studies to evaluate the safety and
efficacy of the breast cancer prevention design, which will use the
Celsion focused heat system to selectively heat both breast cancer and
the nearby milk duct glands. Microwaves are being used to heat the
water within the tissues; if the heat is high enough and applied for a
sufficient period of time then the tumor and the milk duct glands are
expected to be destroyed.
Since milk duct glands and cancer cells are more than 75% water
and normal fatty tissues in the breast are less than 10% water, the
microwaves are expected to selectively heat cancer cells in the target
zone as well as the adjacent milk duct glands. Since the breast is
mostly fatty tissue, due to its low water content the fatty tissue is
expected to escape heat damage.
"There are other cells which have a high percentage of water,
such as skin and muscles, so that is where the Celsion technology
comes in by enabling us to focus the heat so that the skin and muscles
around the breast will also be spared," added Dr. Wolf. The Company
noted that the technology's ability to spare the surrounding healthy
skin and muscles has not yet been proven in human clinical trials.
Preclinical studies at MGH, using breast tissue-equivalent
phantoms and tumors in live animals, verified that Celsion's system is
capable of selectively heating tumors at temperatures of up to 46
degrees Celsius without damage to surrounding healthy tissues. Such
high temperatures, maintained for 8-10 minutes, can cause complete
tumor necrosis leading to the death of all viable cancer cells within
the tumor and its vicinity. It is expected that milk duct glands can
be eliminated in a similar manner due to the glands' high water
content.
According to Dr. Cheung, CELN chairman and chief scientific
officer, "This discovery could significantly broaden the clinical
applications of Celsion's breast cancer treatment system, which is
currently being evaluated for a breast tumor ablation indication of
use under a recent FDA IDE approval."
ABOUT CELSION
In addition to its breast cancer treatment system, Celsion is
also conducting clinical studies towards the FDA approval of its
non-surgical, out-patient treatment for the immediate symptomatic
relief of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Phase one clinical
trials of the Company's BPH system, which began in November 1998, are
expected to be completed in early 1999. Celsion then intends to
commence multiple-site phase two clinicals of the system to collect
the efficacy data necessary to apply for a FDA PMA for
commercialization. The Company is also expanding its line of cancer
treatment systems to include prostate cancer and others.
Celsion Corporation is a research and development company
dedicated to commercializing medical treatment systems for cancer and
BPH using focused heat delivered by patented microwave technology.
Clinicals and further development of the Company's treatment systems
are being conducted by leading institutions such as the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Montefiore
Medical Center, and Duke University.
Forward-looking statements in this release are made pursuant to
the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking
statements involve risks and uncertainties, including, without
limitation, possible changes in cost of materials, expense items,
capital expenditures, capital structure, and other financial items;
introduction of new products and possible acquisitions of assets or
businesses; possible actions by customers, suppliers, competitors,
regulatory authorities; and other risks detailed from time to time in
the Company's periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission.
--30--bh/bos*
CONTACT: Celsion Corporation
John Mon, 410/290-5390
www.celsion.com
or
OTC Financial Network
Geoffrey Eiten, 888/399-7541 or 781/444-6100
www.otcfn.com/celn
KEYWORD: MARYLAND
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: BIOTECHNOLOGY MEDICINE
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URL: businesswire.com
Feb-16-1999 06:27 GMT
Symbols:
US;CELN
Source BW Business Wire
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