Geoff wrote: >here's some reading material on the subject of this type of treatment.<
First of a two part reply (long because I have not yet finished Post 0, which is intended to eventually cover the relatively large amount of material needed to well understand BSDM as an investment opportunity.
cancer.org;
Thanks for the link! And, it provides some good orientation. But, as you might or might not suspect, it is far from up-to-date. Basically, it suffers – particularly from the standpoint of potential investors – of not even addressing BSD Medical’s products, which establish the state-of-the art. A visit to BSDMedical.com will provide a large amount of up-to-date material – but, probably an overwhelming amount. It takes considerable diligence to fully grasp what is happening re microwave electrohyperthermia and ablation. I hope the following critiques of parts of the subject article are helpful. (I use <>s to quote from articles and other public literature -- ><s to quote from message-board posts – “”s whenever appropriate. And ***s are added for highlighting.
<Hyperthermia>
<When cells in the body are exposed to higher than normal temperatures, changes take place inside the cells. These changes can make the cells more likely to be affected by radiation therapy or chemotherapy. Very high temperatures can kill cancer cells outright, but they also can injure or kill normal cells and tissues. This is why hyperthermia must be carefully controlled and should be done by doctors with experience in using it.
The idea of using heat to treat cancer has been around for some time, but early attempts had mixed results. For instance, it was hard to maintain the right temperature in the right area while limiting the effects on other parts of the body. ***But today, newer tools allow better control and more precise delivery of heat, and hyperthermia is being studied for use against many types of cancer.***>
It is that careful control that BSDM (means the company or the stock, as appropriate) has mastered. And, the results are very impressive. BSDM’s “machines” for microwave electrohyperthermia/ablation have moved beyond “studies” and are now in practice, though there are still some Phase III studies being done for the “2000” series machines (very good results, so far). Of main importance, two machines are now fully-FDA-approved (three, if a spun-off machine is counted) and another has a humane-device exemption (HDE). The HDE is for the BSD-2000 and for a certain type of cancer. The basis for an HDE is proven safety and a crucial need for a limited cohort (specific disease with no more than 4000 cases per year). However, “off-label” use for HDE approved equipment is allowed, merely on the basis of a local committee (which many hospitals have). Also of note: The 2000 series of machines are in practice in many foreign countries, where medical advances tend to be adopted earlier than for the U.S. -- and BSDM has marketing agreements in many of these countries – and sales for all machines are rising.
The two FDA-approved machines are the BSD-500 and the MTX-180 – and, the MTX-180 is of main importance, presently, as it addresses a sizable and rapidly-growing market with a highly superior product. (Much proof is available!). The BSD-500 has recently been substantially up-graded, but no sales increase is yet evident (too early to expect that, IMO – but logic says it will come).
<Local hyperthermia>
<Local hyperthermia (or thermal ablation) is used to heat a small area like a tumor. Very high temperatures are used to kill the cancer cells, coagulate the proteins, and destroy the blood vessels. In effect, this cooks the area that is exposed to the heat. Radio waves, microwaves, ultrasound waves, and other forms of energy can be used to heat the area. When ultrasound is used, the technique is called high intensity focused ultrasound, or HIFU. >
The just-above is silent about the fact that microwave energy has advantages over the other forms of heating. This claim requires support, of course, but I can assure you that the more-recent investigations and practice provide ample support. However, this is not yet anything like common knowledge (hence why BSDM is still undervalued) -- one must read recent papers presented at medical symposia and conventions. Much of this information is referenced at BSDMedical.com.
<The heat may be applied using different methods:
• External: High energy waves are aimed at a tumor near the body surface from a machine outside the body.
• Internal: A thin needle or probe is put right into the tumor. The tip of the probe releases energy, which heats the tissue around it.>
The MTX-180 (and, recently, I believe, the BSD-500) is an internal type. The BSD-500 is evidently now both, and the 2000 series machines are external types.
<Radiofrequency ablation>
<Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is probably the most commonly used type of local hyperthermia. It uses high-energy radio waves for treatment. A thin, needle-like probe is put into the tumor for a short time, usually about 10 to 30 minutes. Placement of the probe is guided using ultrasound, MRI, or CT scans. The probe puts out a high-frequency current that creates heat (between 122° and 212°F) and destroys the cells within a certain area. The dead cells are not removed, but become scar tissue and shrink over time.
RFA is most often used to treat tumors that cannot be removed with surgery or for patients who are not able to go through the stresses of surgery. It can usually be done as an outpatient. RFA may be repeated for tumors that come back, start to grow, or to give complete treatments. It can also be added to any other treatment, like surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hepatic arterial infusion therapy, alcohol ablation, or chemoembolization.
RFA can be used to treat tumors up to about 2 inches (5cm) across. It is most commonly used to treat tumors in the liver, kidneys, and lungs, and is being studied for use in other areas of the body. Long-term outcomes after RFA treatment are not yet known, but early results are encouraging.>
RFA has been dominant in the above image-guided therapies (“Interventional Oncology”), but recent investigations and practice have proven Microwave ablation (MWA) to be much superior to RFA – safer, more precise, and able to treat larger tumors; a major win for BSDM.
<Regional hyperthermia>
I hold that the various methods – except for radiofrequency and microwave -- are more curious than convincing, though I am not suggesting wholly unimportant. The reasons for this view are good topics for discussion, but not in this already overly long post.
<Another approach to regional hyperthermia is deep tissue hyperthermia. This treatment uses devices that are placed on the surface of the organ or body cavity and produce high energy waves directed at a certain area. These devices give off radiofrequency or microwave energy to heat the area being treated.<
I believe, with probably some exceptions, RF and MW heating is most important, compared to sonic energy, etc. – and MW heating is now proven to be solidly better than RF. RF and MW are actually similar – just differing frequencies – but there are reasons for the MW spectrum to be best (it uses the most effective wavelengths for generating precise heating inside bodies – and I mean this firmly, as actual usage has proven it rather well).
<Whole-body hyperthermia>
Interesting, but IMO of lesser importance than localized heating. Some direct inquiry at BSDM would likely help. I have not done much direct inquiry, but I intend to do more.
(continued) |
