IRVINE, Calif., March 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Endocare, Inc. , an innovative medical device company focused on the development of minimally invasive technologies for tissue and tumor ablation, announced today that three clinical papers related to the Company's cryoablation technology will be presented at the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) 2006 Annual Meeting held in Toronto from March 30 through April 4.
Stephen Solomon, MD, Associate Member, Department of Radiology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and presenting author on the three studies said, "Taken together with the growing body of data in existence, the three abstracts presented at SIR indicate that when properly administered cryoablation is an effective ablative technique for renal, lung and liver tumors, as long as protocols are tailored to the patient and tumor and patient selection guidelines are optimized. It is also interesting that our animal work suggests that although cryoablation only physically treats the specific tumor site targeted, in combination with immunotherapy agents, the immune effect may be able to treat systemic metastases throughout the body."
The first clinical paper presented, "Immunotherapy in Combination with Cryotherapy in a Mouse Model of Metastatic Colon and Renal Cancer," investigated whether the preservation of tumor antigens in the cryoablation treatment site leads to a systemic immune response that may treat remote tumors. The study found that mice whose tumors were treated with cryoablation showed a survival advantage compared to mice treated with surgery. These early results suggest a systemic immune effect may occur on tumor metastases following cryoablation and warrant further study of the observed anti-tumor effects.
The second clinical paper presented, "Percutaneous CT-Guided Cryoablation for Localized Renal Cell Carcinoma: Factors Influencing Success," evaluated the factors that influence the initial success rate and complication rate of percutaneous computed tomography (CT)-guided cryoablation of localized renal cell carcinoma tumors. Twenty-one patients with a total of 23 tumors were treated with percutaneous CT-guided cryoablation under conscious sedation on an outpatient basis. This technique proved to be successful for guiding probe placement and monitoring ice ball formation. Results determined that tumor location and size were the major determinants for achieving tumor eradication.
The last clinical paper presented, "Thermal Map of Two Adjacent CryoProbes to Create Overlapping Ablations," questioned how close two overlapping ablation probes need to be to treat tumors larger than a single probe ablation treatment zone. The study also investigated whether synergistic effects of simultaneously ablating multiple probes make multiple probes better than serial single ablations and if thermal maps in different tissues are the same. The study concluded that appropriate spacing between two CryoProbes is
necessary to create successful overlapping ablations and different protocols should be employed when treating different tissues.
Endocare Chairman and CEO Craig T. Davenport said, "As important as the subject matter of these studies is the fact that there is an accelerating number of clinical trials using our technology, in process today. It is also significant that physicians outside of our core urology markets continue to seek additional applications for cryoablation in the treatment of disease."
Representatives from Endocare will be located at booth 1109 in the Metro Toronto Convention Center.
About Endocare
Endocare, Inc. -- www.endocare.com -- is an innovative medical device company focused on the development of 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.
Statements contained in this release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Among the important factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those discussed in: "Risks Related to Our Business" or "Risk Factors" in the Company's Forms 10-K, Forms 10-Q, and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Such risk factors include, but are not limited to: uncertainty relating to ongoing investigations by governmental agencies; uncertainty regarding the Company's liquidity and ability to reach and maintain profitability; the risk that the Company may be required to make state and local tax payments that exceed the Company's settlement estimates; uncertainty regarding the Company's re-listing on a national stock exchange; uncertainty regarding the effects of effectuating the Company's proposed reverse stock split, in particular the possibility that the market may react negatively to the Company's effectuation of a reverse stock split; uncertainty regarding market acceptance of the Company's products; uncertainty of product development and the associated risks related to clinical trials; uncertainty relating to third party reimbursement; uncertainty regarding the ability to convince health care professionals and third party payers of the medical and economic benefits of the Company's products; the Company's limited sales, marketing and manufacturing experience; uncertainty regarding the ability to attract and retain key personnel; uncertainty regarding the ability to secure and protect intellectual property rights relating to the Company's technology; the rapid pace of technological change in the Company's industry; and fluctuations in the Company's order levels. The actual results that the Company achieves may differ materially from any forward-looking statements due to such risks and uncertainties. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise, or update publicly, any forward-looking statements for any reason.
Investor Contact: Media Contact: For Additional Information: Matt Clawson Len Hall Craig T. Davenport, CEO Allen & Caron, Inc. Allen & Caron, Inc. Michael R. Rodriguez, CFO (949) 474-4300 (949) 474-4300 Endocare, Inc. matt@allencaron.comlen@allencaron.com (949) 450-5400 www.allencaron.comwww.allencaron.comwww.endocare.com
Endocare, Inc.CONTACT: Investor Contact, Matt Clawson of Allen & Caron, Inc.,+1-949-474-4300, matt@allencaron.com, for Endocare, Inc.; or Media Contact,Len Hall of Allen & Caron, Inc., +1-949-474-4300, len@allencaron.com, forEndocare, Inc.; or For Additional Information, Craig T. Davenport, CEO, orMichael R. Rodriguez, CFO, both of Endocare, Inc., +1-949-450-5400
Web site: http://www.endocare.com//
