RITA Medical Systems Liver Cancer Survival Data To Be Presented at ACS
Barry Cheskin, RITA President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "This presentation is the first to show the effect of our technology on patient survival and is an extremely important milestone for the Company. We believe these data have the potential to dramatically impact physicians' decisions on whether to use or recommend our products for their patients with unresectable liver tumors."
Cheskin noted that this year, there will be approximately two million patients worldwide who have primary or metastatic tumors in their liver and that as many as 90 percent of these patients are not considered to be candidates for surgery or are what is termed 'unresectable.' He added that these patients, especially those whose tumors are confined to their liver, are the primary targets for the Company's products in liver cancer.
RITA's RF ablation system enables physicians to deliver monitored and controlled levels of RF energy into the tissue through an array of thin electrodes that heat and effectively destroy, or ablate, the targeted tissue. In many cases, this minimally invasive procedure can be performed with just local anesthesia.
The Company estimates that the worldwide market opportunity for its products in treating unresectable liver cancer is $500 million, in addition to other market opportunities of $600 million for treating painful bone metastases, $400 million for treating unresectable lung cancer and $750 million for the treatment of uterine fibroids.
About RITA Medical Systems, Inc.
RITA Medical Systems develops, manufactures and markets innovative products for patients with solid cancerous or benign tumors. The proprietary RITA system uses radiofrequency energy to heat tissue to a high enough temperature to ablate it or cause cell death. While the Company's current focus is on liver cancer, the Company believes that its minimally invasive technology may in the future be applied to other types of tumors, including tumors of the lung, bone, breast, uterus, prostate and kidney. The Company has received regulatory clearance in major markets worldwide, including the United States. In March 2000, RITA became the first radiofrequency ablation company to receive specific FDA clearance for unresectable liver lesions in addition to its previous general FDA clearance for the ablation of soft tissue. The Company has sold approximately 40,000 of its disposable devices throughout the world.
The statements in this news release related to the company's plans to extend its technology to applications beyond the liver and the company's projections of the market potential related to liver and non-liver applications are forward-looking statements involving risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. Information regarding these and other risks is included in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
RITA is a trademark of RITA Medical Systems, Inc.
For further information please contact: Matt Clawson (investors), matt@allencaron.com, or Len Hall (media), len@allencaron.com, both of Allen & Caron Inc, +1-949-474-4300, for RITA Medical Systems, Inc.; or Don Stewart, Chief Financial Officer of RITA Medical Systems, Inc., +1-650-314-3400, dstewart@ritamed.com
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SOURCE RITA Medical Systems, Inc.
Web site: http: //www.ritamedical.com
CONTACT: Matt Clawson (investors), matt@allencaron.com, or Len Hall (media), len@allencaron.com, both of Allen & Caron Inc, +1-949-474-4300, for RITA Medical Systems, Inc.; or Don Stewart, Chief Financial Officer of RITA Medical Systems, Inc., +1-650-314-3400, dstewart@ritamed.com