American Urological Association (AUA) Clinical Guidelines Recognizes Cryotherapy As Treatment Option For Prostate Cancer Patients

Main Category: Prostate / Prostate Cancer
Also Included In: Urology / Nephrology;  Cancer / Oncology
Article Date: 23 May 2008 - 4:00 PDT

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Galil Medical, a global leader in cryotherapy, announced that the American Urological Association has introduced clinical guidelines with best practice statements for prostate cryotherapy. The guidelines state that cryoablation is a treatment option for men with clinically confined prostate cancer of any grade and that salvage cryoablation is a treatment option in men who have failed radiation therapy.

Prostate cryotherapy uses extreme cold to freeze and destroy prostate cancer cells. This minimally invasive procedure is routinely and successfully performed on prostate cancer patients with varying disease stages as well as those who have failed radiation treatment. Prostate cancer is the most common cancer, other than skin cancers, in American men. The American Cancer Society estimates that during 2008 about 186,320 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed in the United States.

The American Urological Association (AUA), the premier professional association for the advancement of urologic patient care, routinely adopts clinical guidelines and best practice statements, releasing updates as technology improves. Dr. Richard Babaian, Professor and Senior Medical Director at the MD Anderson Physician Network, presented the new guidelines for cryotherapy for the treatment of localized prostate cancer at the plenary session of the AUA annual meeting.

Martin J. Emerson, Galil Medical President and CEO comments, "We are pleased that the AUA, in its preeminent role in assessing new treatment options for urologists and their patients, now recognizes cryotherapy as a mainstream treatment option for patients diagnosed with localized prostate cancer."

Urologists can learn first-hand about cryotherapy at the Cryosurgical Ablation of the Prostate course being presented during the AUA annual meeting on Thursday, May 22, 2008 from 6-8 a.m.

A recently published retrospective study of primary prostate cryotherapy by Dr. Jeffrey Cohen reported 10-year follow up data with biochemical control comparable to external beam radiotherapy or prostate brachytherapy. The literature has also shown that advances over the last 10 years in cryoablation techniques have dramatically improved the morbidity profile.

New guidelines for the treatment of localized prostate cancer were released by the AUA in 2007 and emphasized communication with the patient regarding risk, treatment options, and potential outcomes. At that time, it was recognized that cryotherapy for the treatment of localized prostate cancer should be the topic of an AUA best practice policy.

About Galil Medical

Galil Medical develops, manufactures and markets innovative products utilizing a proprietary cryotherapy platform that incorporates powerful freezing technology and revolutionary 17-gauge cryoablation needle design. Galil Medical systems enable minimally invasive, targeted ablation of benign and cancerous tumors while ensuring rapid recovery and enhanced quality of life for patients. The Presice(TM) Cryoablation System features multi-point thermal sensors (MTS) and advanced IceVue(TM) planning software for excellent procedure control in treating prostate and renal cancer. The SeedNet(TM) system provides physicians with an easy-to-use cryoablation solution to precisely ablate tumors while protecting adjacent structures.

Galil Medical is a global medical device company with offices in Yokneam, Israel; Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania; and London, Shareholders include Thomas, McNerney & Partners, The Vertical Group, Investor Growth Capital, Elron Electronic Industries Ltd. (NASDAQ:ELRN) and RDC Rafael Development Corporation, Ltd.

Galil Medical