Nordion presents TheraSphere Phase II trial results against liver metastases at SIR meeting

Nordion Inc. (TSX: NDN) (NYSE: NDZ), a leading provider of products and services to the global health science market, today shared results from the first multi-site, Phase II clinical trial to evaluate TheraSphere® for treatment of metastatic liver cancer.

The trial evaluated a variety of factors, including safety and tumour response, in patients with liver metastases—cancerous tumours that spread to the liver from other sites in the body.  The overall tumour response, including stable disease, was 90% in metastatic neuroendocrine tumours and 69.2% in all treatment groups.

Initial analysis of the trial data led the researchers to suggest that TheraSphere is a safe, well-tolerated treatment for patients with liver metastases. The study yielded remarkably consistent results across all the centres.

Dr. Riad Salem of Northwestern University in Chicago, IL, presented the findings yesterday at the annual scientific meeting of the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) in Chicago. The Global Principal Investigator was Dr. Al Benson III of Northwestern. The trial ran from 2007 to 2011 and involved 151 patients at the following five institutions:

• Northwestern University, Chicago, IL
• Albany Medical Center, Albany, NY
• Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
• Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
• Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI

"We are extremely pleased with the consistency of the results across all treating institutions," said Dr. Peter Covitz, Nordion's Senior Vice-President of Innovation. "This study will inform future development plans for TheraSphere."