Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Microcap & Penny Stocks : Tokyo Joe's Cafe / Societe Anonyme/No Pennies -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: jopawa who wrote (55915)	2/16/1999 10:45:00 AM
From: Tomstocks	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 119973

Massachusetts General Hospital Files Patent Application for Breast Cancer Prevention Design Using Celsion Technology February 16, 1999 09:12 AM COLUMBIA, Md.--(BW HealthWire)--Feb. 16, 1999--Celsion Corp. 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.