News Release

New treatment reduces liver tumors and improves quality of life for cancer patients

Peer-Reviewed Publication

University of Pittsburgh Medical Center

ORLANDO, May 17 – A new treatment option for inoperable primary liver cancer called TheraSphere® appears to be safe and effective for liver cancer patients, according to results presented by a University of Pittsburgh researcher at the 38th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO).

Brian Carr, M.D., Ph.D., professor and director of the liver tumor service at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, evaluated safety and effectiveness of the novel treatment that emits beta rays via microscopic glass beads delivered by catheter directly into the liver through the hepatic artery.

“Hepatocellular carcinoma, a type of cancer that arises from liver cells, can be a deadly disease when diagnosed at an advanced stage, leaving patients with limited treatment options,” explained Dr. Carr. “We have found that TheraSphere allows physicians to deliver a much higher dose to the liver than is possible with standard radiotherapy and is fairly well tolerated even in patients whose livers are highly susceptible to radiation-induced damage.”

Dr. Carr reported findings for 36 patients with advanced stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who had received a maximum of two treatments with TheraSphere to each liver lobe. Thirty-one of these patients were able to be evaluated for a response to the treatment. Six patients had a partial response to the treatment which resulted in a decrease in tumor size and 18 patients remained stable with no tumor progression. Disease progressed in seven patients.

Toxicities associated with the treatment were relatively minor and included nausea, vomiting and increased levels of bilirubin (a bile pigment). None of the 36 patients treated with TheraSphere exhibited radiation-induced toxicities outside of the liver resulting in improved quality of life for patients undergoing the treatment.

TheraSphere is an outpatient procedure that lasts from 30 to 40 minutes. The glass beads are delivered by catheter into the femoral artery up through the hepatic artery and into the liver.

Once the catheter reaches the liver, TheraSphere is released and blood carries the beads into the tumor where they remain with a half-life of 64.2 hours. The beads are prevented from being swept from the tumor into other parts of the body because they are too large to fit through the liver’s capillary system.

HCC kills up to a half million people around the world each year, primarily in Africa and Asia due to the high prevalence of hepatitis in those regions. Hepatitis is the leading cause of primary liver cancer. In the United States, about 15,000 cases of HCC are diagnosed annually.

TheraSphere is produced by MDS Nordion, a subsidiary of Canada’s largest health and life sciences company, MDS, Inc. TheraSphere is authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use as a humanitarian device for the treatment of liver tumors.

For more information, please contact the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Liver Tumor Service toll-free 877-640-6746 or 412-648-3200.

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kr/05-16-02

CONTACT:
Clare Collins
Craig Dunhoff
PHONE: 412-647-3555
FAX: 412-624-3184
E-MAIL:
CollCX@msx.upmc.edu
DunhoffCC@msx.upmc.edu


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