IRVINE, Calif., June 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Endocare, Inc. , an innovative medical device company providing minimally invasive technologies for tissue and tumor ablation, announced today that a group of the nation's leading academic institutions are collaborating on an 800-patient, multi-center, prospective study of the effectiveness of cryoablation on men whose prostate cancer has recurred after radiation therapy. The study, called SCORE (Salvage Cryotherapy Registry Evaluation) is being led by E. David Crawford, M.D., and Al Barqawi, M.D., both of the University of Colorado Cancer Center, and physicians from up to 25 leading medical institutions, including M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Loma Linda University, Washington University, the University of Tennessee and Maimonides Medical Center, are expected to participate.
Statistics show that 25 to 30 percent of men who undergo brachytherapy or external beam radiation treatments as a primary therapy for prostate cancer suffer a recurrence in three to five years. For these men, follow-up radiation therapy (also known as salvage radiation) and follow-up surgery (also known as salvage prostatectomy) can be effective but they invite additional risk and complications, according to Dr. Crawford.
"A substantial population of prostate cancer patients has the cancer return after radiation," Dr. Crawford said. "In my practice, salvage cryoablation has replaced salvage prostatectomy because it is less invasive and has minimal morbidity. Physicians have been recommending cryoablation in this circumstance for years and this study should provide us the data we need to evaluate and confirm the treatment as an important and proven option for these men."
"We believe that this study will demonstrate what more and more urologists already know -- that cryoablation can give these patients a great second chance," said Craig T. Davenport, Endocare Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. "This should be very welcome news to the thousands of patients each year who have undergone radiation therapy only to see their cancer come back. These so-called 'salvage' patients have very few options other than hormone therapy. The study will be used to determine the best methods for diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of these salvage patients. We look forward to following this study because the most modern and advanced cryoablation technology available will be used. While previous salvage studies show good results, we expect these outcomes to be even better."
Cryoablation is a procedure during which the physician freezes and destroys the cancerous tumors in the prostate gland. Endocare developed and manufactures the industry's leading cryoablation device, the Endocare Cryocare(R) System. Patients who undergo cryoablation often are released within 24 hours of the procedure and are able to return to normal activity within a few days.
The SCORE Study is the largest prospective trial ever undertaken in cryoablation. Investigators will collect uniform, HIPAA compliant, anonymous patient data for collaborative analysis and publication. Data components, which are based on an Institutional Review Board (IRB) approved protocol, include diagnostics, cryoablation procedure, clinical follow-up and complications.
A national patient educational and awareness campaign is underway to find patients with recurrent prostate cancer following radiation. A number of additional academic and community centers are in the process of joining the study. Additional information can be found at http://www.scorestudy.org, a website that has been created to educate prospective patients about the study. Also, interested parties can call 1-877-722-2796 to speak to a patient advocate about SCORE or salvage cryotherapy.
About Endocare
Endocare, Inc. -- http://www.endocare.com -- is an innovative medical device company providing minimally invasive technologies for tissue and tumor ablation. Endocare has initially concentrated on developing technologies for the treatment of prostate cancer and believes that its proprietary technologies have broad applications across a number of markets, including the ablation of tumors in the kidney, lung and liver and palliative intervention (treatment of pain associated with metastases).
Statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements, include, but are not limited to, statements regarding expected participation in, and expected results of, the study described in this press release. Actual results may differ materially from any forward-looking statements due to such risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those discussed in "Risk Factors" in the Company's Forms 10-K, Forms 10-Q and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise, or update publicly, any forward-looking statements for any reason.
CONTACT: investors, Matt Clawson, matt@allencaron.com, or media, Len Hall,
len@allencaron.com, both of Allen & Caron, Inc., +1-949-474-4300, for
Endocare, Inc.; or Craig T. Davenport, CEO, or Michael R. Rodriguez, CFO,
both of Endocare, Inc., +1-949-450-5400
Web site: http://www.endocare.com/
