IsoRay Announces Cornell Medical Center Adopts Cesium-131 To Treat Head And Neck Cancer

Main Category: Cancer / Oncology
Also Included In: Ear, Nose and Throat
Article Date: 30 Sep 2009 - 0:00 PDT

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IsoRay, Inc. (Amex: ISR) announced today that on August 5, 2009, Dr. Bhupesh Parashar from the Department of Radiation Oncology, Dr. David Kutler of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology, and Dr. Jason Spector of the Department of Plastic Surgery at Weill Cornell Medical Center performed the world's first Cesium-131 implant for a recurrent head and neck cancer (buccal mucosa).

The implant was performed using Vicryl®-embedded seeds on a 66-year-old patient who had received a full course of radiation to the head and neck several years ago. Cesium-131 was chosen for its short half-life and the higher dose rate. The patient tolerated the implant procedure well, and has had no adverse effects that can be attributed to the use of Cs-131 seeds. There is no evidence of cancer recurrence to date.

Dr. Parashar stated, "We are very pleased to date with this patient's progress. Having Cs-131 with its combination of short half-life and high energy gave us another option for treating this patient's recurring buccal mucosa cancer."

Dr. Dattatreyudu Nori, the Chairman of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Weill Cornell Medical Center, and a pioneer in the field of brachytherapy, performed some of the initial Cesium-131 prostate implants in 2005.

Until now clinical experience with Cesium-131 has been focused on prostate cancer and ocular melanoma. However, Cesium-131 has been cleared by the FDA for use in the treatment of malignant disease (e.g., prostate, ocular melanoma, head and neck, lung, brain, breast, etc.) and may be used in surface, interstitial, and intracavitary applications for tumors with known radiosensitivity.

Dwight Babcock, IsoRay's CEO, stated, "This is another example supporting our strategy to expand the use of Cesium-131 seeds to a larger population of patients with varying cancers. The use of Cs-131 is a very attractive alternative to other treatment options, and physicians continue to broaden the scope of this isotope for use in minimally invasive treatments."

About IsoRay

IsoRay, Inc., through its subsidiary, IsoRay Medical, Inc., is the sole producer of the Cesium-131 brachytherapy seed.

The Cesium-131 seed offers a significantly shorter radiation half-life than the two other isotopes commonly used for brachytherapy, which results in a substantially faster delivery of therapeutic radiation, a theoretically improved radiation delivery against aggressively replicating cancer(a), and the potential for a reduced longevity of common brachytherapy side effects(b).

Cesium-131 is currently used in the treatment or prostate cancer(c) and ocular melanoma(d), among other cancerous conditions.

(a) Armpilia CI, Dale RG, Coles IP, et al. The Determination of Radiobiologically Optimized Half-lives for Radionuclides Used in Permanent Brachytherapy Implants. International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, and Physics 2003;55(2):378-385.

(b) DeFoe SG, Beriwal S, Smith R, Benoit R. Is there decreased duration of acute urinary and bowel symptoms after prostate brachytherapy with cesium 131 isotope? International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, and Physics 2008;72(S1):S317.

(c) Bice WS, Prestidge BR, Kurtzman SM, Beriwal S, Moran BJ, Patel RR, Rivard, MJ. Recommendations for permanent prostate brachytherapy with (131)Cs: a consensus report from the cesium advisory group. Brachytherapy 2008;7(4):290-6.

(d) Melhus CS, Rivard MJ. COMS eye plaque brachytherapy dosimetry simulations for 103Pd, 125I, and 131Cs. Medical Physics 2008;35(7):3364-71.

Source
IsoRay