RICHLAND, WA--(Marketwired - May 7, 2015) - IsoRay, Inc. (NYSE MKT: ISR), a medical technology company and innovator in brachytherapy and medical isotope applications, today announced the start of a new study of head and neck cancer patients being treated with IsoRay's Cesium-131 internal radiation (brachytherapy) cancer seeds. The study is being conducted at Thomas Jefferson University, a leading, highly recognized national institution in the cancer therapy field.
IsoRay Chairman and CEO Dwight Babcock, commented, "Cancers that recur in the head and neck pose major problems. They have shown a resistance to the standard therapies of surgery and conventional radiation, leading to significant and life-altering complications."
Thomas Jefferson University has combined the efforts of its Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery and Radiation Oncology departments to provide a new treatment option for patients with recurrence of head and neck cancers. Following surgical resection of the tumor, this targeted therapy allows for localized Cesium-131 (Cs-131) radioactive seeds placed directly in the tumor bed. (IRB approved study 15D-067). "Cs-131 is a favorable isotope for use across a wide range of tumors and its dose distribution properties facilitate easy calculation and use in the clinic and a decrease in the exposure to radiation oncologists, staff and patient families," says Voichita Bar Ad, MD, the lead radiation oncologist of this program. While Cs-131 seeds have been used in a number of other disease sites, this study of application in the head and neck region places Jefferson as one of the pioneers of this novel therapy. These low energy radiation sources with a short half-life allow patients to be discharged following surgical recovery without need for long term radiation precautions. "This study may afford us the opportunity to improve the poor cure rate of patients that develop recurrent head and neck cancer," says Adam Luginbuhl, MD, one of the lead investigators of the study.
IsoRay Chairman and CEO Dwight Babcock noted, "Cesium-131 continues to impress medical professionals as reported successes are showing positive results in treating some of the toughest cancer cases. Many of our cases are brought by physicians seeking solutions where first line treatments have failed. Following Cesium-131 treatment, patients are having better outcomes with improved quality of life. Therapy with Cs-131 is successfully treating patients who failed conventional therapies and we believe that it could help many other patients. We are extremely excited to see that Cesium-131 isotope seeds continue to perform so well against aggressive cancers throughout the body. We remain committed to helping patients afflicted with these horrible cancers and enhancing their quality of life."
IsoRay's various products, including Cesium-131 seeds, sutured seeds, stranded mesh and the GliaSite® radiation therapy system, give physicians the ability to directly place a specified dosage of radiation in areas where cancer is most likely to remain after completion of a tumor removal or by placing seeds within the prostate. The ability to precisely place a specified dose of radiation means there is less likelihood for damage to occur to healthy surrounding tissue compared to other alternative treatments. IsoRay's cancer fighting products diminish the ability of the tumor to recur, resulting in important benefits for patients in longevity as well as quality of life.
About IsoRay
IsoRay, Inc., through its subsidiary IsoRay Medical, Inc., is the sole producer of Cesium-131 brachytherapy seeds, which are expanding brachytherapy options throughout the body. Learn more about this innovative Richland, Washington company and explore the many benefits and uses of GliaSite® and Cesium-131 by visiting www.isoray.com. Join us on Facebook/Isoray. Follow us on Twitter @Isoray.
Safe Harbor Statement
Statements in this news release about IsoRay's future expectations, including: the advantages of our products and their delivery systems, whether IsoRay will be able to continue to expand its base beyond prostate cancer, whether sales of our products will continue at historic levels or increase, whether the use of our products will increase or continue, whether we will continue to receive support from industry leaders, whether awareness of our products in the medical community will continue or increase, whether ultimate study results will be favorable, whether future studies of treatment of various cancers using our products will have favorable results, and all other statements in this release, other than historical facts, are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 ("PSLRA"). This statement is included for the express purpose of availing IsoRay, Inc. of the protections of the safe harbor provisions of the PSLRA. It is important to note that actual results and ultimate corporate actions could differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements based on such factors as physician acceptance, training and use of our products, our ability to successfully manufacture, market and sell our products, our ability to manufacture our products in sufficient quantities to meet demand within required delivery time periods while meeting our quality control standards, our ability to enforce our intellectual property rights, whether additional studies are released and support the conclusions of past studies, whether ongoing patient results with our products are favorable and in line with the conclusions of clinical studies and initial patient results, patient results achieved when our products are used for the treatment of cancers and malignant diseases beyond prostate, successful completion of future research and development activities, whether we, our distributors and our customers will successfully obtain and maintain all required regulatory approvals and licenses to market, sell and use our products in its various forms, continued compliance with ISO standards as audited by BSI, the success of our sales and marketing efforts, changes in reimbursement rates, changes in laws and regulations applicable to our products, and other risks detailed from time to time in IsoRay's reports filed with the SEC.