IOPM (Intraop Medical Corp)

[eugizay]

Anyone following this company? I just read this article in the New
York Times. Stock took off this morning.

New York Times...


Groundbreaking Breast Cancer Radiation Technique Delivers Proven Long-
Term Benefits and Saves Lives


Published: September 15, 2009


SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- One minute of radiation in the
operating room (OR) could save the lives of thousands of women being
treated for breast cancer in the US today. According to a growing body
of research, a 60-second course of radiation therapy delivered during
surgery dramatically improves results. But, until recently, logistical
and administrative difficulties prevented most patients from receiving
this crucial treatment until weeks after their procedures.


Now, a portable, self-contained radiation therapy system, the Mobetron
from Intraop Medical Corporation (OTCBB: IOPM; Sunnyvale, Calif.), is
changing all that. St. Joseph Hospital (Orange, Calif.), one of only
16 prestigious designated National Cancer Institute Community Cancer
Centers, this month introduced the first ongoing intraoperative
electron radiation therapy (IOERT) program for breast cancer. During
lumpectomy surgery, St. Joseph's patients receive a high dose of
therapy focused specifically on the tumor site, known as a "boost."
Given the benefits, other facilities are expected to follow suit.


Felix Sedlmayer, MD, one of the world's leading IOERT researchers and
the principal investigator of IOERT boost trials conducted by six
European medical centers over the past decade, concluded that IOERT
cut breast cancer five year recurrence rates dramatically, from an
average of 5% to less than 1%.


"If the IOERT boost were a standard technique in the US, every year,
more than 5000 breast cancer recurrences could have be avoided,"
according to Roland Reitsamer, MD, a surgeon at the University of
Salzburg, where the technique has been studied extensively for the
past decade. Each one of those recurrences typically would result in a
subsequent mastectomy, which also would be avoided. A prestigious
Lancet review of studies on breast cancer found a 25% increase in 15
year survival for patients with no recurrences at five years,
suggesting that IOERT boost could have a significant impact on the
survival of thousands of women worldwide.


What every woman should know about intraoperative radiation


It seems a matter of common sense. Lumpectomy is typically followed by
a six-week course of radiation therapy to help eliminate any remaining
malignant cells. Treatment takes place at least four weeks after
surgery when the breast has healed. Because traditional, post-
operative radiation is delivered externally, it must pass through the
body to reach diseased areas, and healthy tissue may be damaged in the
process. Additionally, once surgery is complete, physicians no longer
have direct access to the target area to easily and precisely deliver
radiation.


So why not begin the radiation treatment during the surgery itself?
This would immediately target any remaining cancer cells, while
allowing complete access to the tumor area for greater precision in
radiation delivery. It also would spare radiation dose to surrounding
tissue and reduce the number of days a woman has to travel to a cancer
center for external treatment after surgery. In fact, at St. Joseph,
IOERT will shorten the course of post-operative radiation by seven to
10 days by delivering the targeted boost dose prior to, rather than
after, traditional treatments.


"The answer is that intraoperative radiation simply hasn't been
practical until now," explains ,John Powers, CEO for IntraOp. "Without
the Mobetron, the treatment would mean equipping a special operating
room with a costly, unwieldy 18,000 pound linear accelerator to
generate radiation as well as a shielded radiation vault to protect
staff from repeated exposure to this radiation. This is just not
feasible for most hospitals."


The other alternative, Mr. Powers points out, has been transferring
patients under anesthesia with an open incision from the OR to a
radiation therapy center, typically located offsite. This
significantly increases the risk and duration of surgery and
anesthesia. The result: despite its enormous benefits, IOERT has
rarely been used in the US for breast patients.


However, IOERT has been heavily investigated in major European
university hospitals and is currently in use in more than a dozen
facilities. This is not surprising because historically the European
medical system has been an early adopter of promising new paradigms
for breast cancer diagnosis and treatment, including mammography,
breast conserving lumpectomy and sentinel node biopsy.


The Mobetron


Specifically optimized for IOERT, the IntraOp Mobetron incorporates a
range of technological innovations to make all the benefits of this
treatment realistic and practical for women and their doctors around
the world. The innovative system eliminates the risk, time, cost and
complexity of IOERT by enabling delivery in any standard OR.


Unlike conventional linear accelerators, the Mobetron is relatively
lightweight and can be wheeled among different OR locations. The
Mobetron requires no external radiation vault or bunker because
patented technologies eliminate most stray room radiation generated by
conventional accelerators and because of its patented self-shielding,


To operate the device, following tumor excision, a Mobetron applicator
tube is temporarily inserted into the breast to provide precise
treatment directly to the tumor bed. The Mobetron is positioned for
radiation delivery, and the one-minute treatment takes place.


About IntraOp Medical Corporation


IntraOp Medical Corporation provides innovative technology solutions
for the treatment and eradication of cancer. Founded in 1993, IntraOp
is committed to providing the tools doctors need to administer
intraoperative radiation therapy safely and effectively - for all
cancer patients. The company's flagship product, the Mobetron, is the
first fully portable, self-shielding intraoperative electron radiation
therapy device designed for use in any operating room. Key Mobetron
benefits include: increased survival rates, better local tumor
control, shorter treatment cycles, immediate palliative effect, and
fewer side effects. Leading hospitals, from university research
centers to specialized cancer clinics world-wide are increasingly
using the Mobetron to treat a wide variety of cancers as a vital part
of their comprehensive cancer program.

[filagree]

sounds TGTBT. Probably another cancer cottage industry, fudgeing the data to makae it look useful.(look up the now-passe "high dose radiation and bone marrow transplantation" that was sold to the public as a mega-con 15-20 yrs ago----until it was shown to truly be useless).
Nonetheless, the public is easily conned, so it migfht be a good short term play.