- Seven Patients With Prostate Confined Low Risk Cancer Treated in Clinical Trials
Elbit Imaging Ltd. (NASDAQ: EMITF) ("Elbit" "Company") that it's subsidiary, InSightec Ltd., the global leader in MR guided focused ultrasound technology and the only company to receive FDA approval for its ExAblate(R) system for treating uterine fibroids, announced today that its ExAblate(R) system has been used for the first time for the treatment of prostate cancer patients. Seven patients with localized low-risk prostate cancer were treated worldwide so far. The patients were treated at two leading medical centers: the N.N. Petrov Research Institute of Oncology in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and at the National Cancer Centre at the Singapore General Hospital, Singapore.
Prostate cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers among men. According to the American Cancer Society 217,730 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed in the US in 2010; and 900,000 new cases diagnosed globally, according to the World Health Organization. The annual spending in G7 countries (US, UK, France, Italy, Germany, Spain and Japan) is estimated at 15 Billion Dollars. Treatment options include prostatectomy (surgical removal of the prostate gland), radiation therapy, brachytherapy (implantation of radioactive seeds), and cryotherapy. Ultrasound guided high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) has also been used, outside the US, to treat prostate cancer.