Dr. Riad Salem, Yttrium-90 radioembolization expert, to narrate liver cancer treatment in Chicago
OTTAWA, June 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ - Nordion Inc. (TSX: NDN) (NYSE: NDZ), a leading provider of products and services for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease, today announced that organizers of the World Congress on Interventional Oncology (WCIO) 2012 will be hosting a live administration of Nordion’s TheraSphere®Yttrium-90 (Y-90) glass microsphere liver cancer treatment.
The administration will take place on Thursday, June 14 at 5 PM CST in the context of an approved Continuing Medical Education program organized by WCIO. The treatment will be administered to a pre-screened patient at Northwestern Memorial Hospital (Northwestern University) in Chicago and broadcast live via video link to physicians attending WCIO, which takes place in ChicagoJune 14-17. Real-time narration of the procedure will be provided by Riad Salem, MD, Professor of Radiology, Medicine and Surgery and Director, Interventional Oncology at Northwestern University, and one of the world’s foremost experts in Y-90 radioembolization for liver cancer.
“We are pleased with WCIO’s initiative to present a live case demonstration of TheraSphere®,” said Mason Ross, MD, Nordion’s Vice President of Medical Affairs. “This promises to be a valuable and unique learning opportunity for physicians considering the use of TheraSphere®. Observers will be able to see first-hand how generally well-tolerated and fast the infusion is as a liver-directed therapy.”
Nordion representatives attending WCIO will be at Booth #208 to meet with physicians and journalists. Among other topics, Nordion will be providing more information on the new TheraSphere® custom dose feature, which was launched last month in Canada and the EU and is now available in the US. In addition, Nordion will be demonstrating the new TheraSphere® App for iPad, created for healthcare providers and now available for download through the Apple App Store and iTunes. Nordion is also providing $20,000 to the WCIO Fellows’ Scholarship Fund, which provides interventional radiology fellows training in the latest interventional oncology techniques, therapies, and research presented by multidisciplinary international faculty.
About TheraSphere®
TheraSphere® is a liver cancer therapy that consists of millions of small glass beads (20 to 30 micrometers in diameter) containing radioactive Y-90. The product is injected by physicians into the artery of the patient’s liver through a catheter, which allows the treatment to be delivered directly to the tumour via blood flow.
In the US, TheraSphere® is used to treat patients with HCC who can have appropriately positioned hepatic arterial catheters, and can be used as a bridge to surgery or transplantation in these patients. It is also indicated for the treatment of HCC patients with partial or branch portal vein thrombosis or occlusion when clinical evaluation warrants the treatment. TheraSphere® is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under a Humanitarian Device Exemption (HDE). HDE approvals are based on demonstrated safety and probable clinical benefit. However, effectiveness of the indication for use has not been established.
Common side effects include mild to moderate fatigue, pain and nausea for about a week. Physicians describe these symptoms as similar to those of the flu. Some patients experience some loss of appetite and temporary changes in several blood tests. For details on rare or more severe side effects, please refer to the TheraSphere® package insert/instructions for use at www.nordion.com/therasphere.
About Nordion Inc.
Nordion Inc. (TSX: NDN) (NYSE: NDZ) is a global health science company that provides market-leading products used for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease. We are a leading provider of medical isotopes, targeted therapies and sterilization technologies that benefit the lives of millions of people in more than 60 countries around the world. Our products are used daily by pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, medical-device manufacturers, hospitals, clinics and research laboratories. Nordion has more than 500 highly skilled employees in three locations. Find out more at www.nordion.com and follow us at http://twitter.com/NordionInc.
SOURCE Nordion Inc.
