From rxpgnews.com

Prostate Cancer
NICE Supports High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) for the Treatment of Localized Prostate Cancer
Apr 3, 2005 - 9:55:38 AM

EDAP TMS S.A. (Nasdaq: EDAP - News), today welcomed the publication of the U.K. National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) recent guidelines supporting the use of High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) for the treatment of localized prostate cancer.

More than 27,000 men in the U.K. are being diagnosed with prostate cancer every year, and 10,000 die from the disease.

HIFU with Ablatherm® significantly broadens the range of treatment options for patients with localized prostate cancer, offering an alternative therapy for the patients.

It is particularly suited to patients who are not candidates for surgery or those for whom radiotherapy treatment has failed. In contrast to surgery, it requires only a short period of hospitalization and has a low complication rate. Unlike radiation, HIFU treatment can also be safely repeated if necessary.

HIFU with Ablatherm has established strong credentials with 7,000 treatments performed to date worldwide using the Ablatherm. In the U.K., Stepping Hill Hospital, Stockport, was the first institution in the country to use HIFU with Ablatherm for the treatment of prostate cancer. It has been treating patients for more than a year, as part of a clinical pilot trial, with very encouraging outcome.

Dr. Stephen Brown, consultant urologist at Stepping Hill Hospital, Stockport, commented: "In Europe there is increasing experience with many new centers coming on line and large numbers of patients being treated. When we started a year ago we wanted to embark on a U.K. study to establish whether it is as good as the Europeans are claiming. Results so far are very encouraging. Patients seem very happy with the treatment, but it's still very early days."

Hugues de Bantel, Chief Executive Officer of EDAP TMS, added: "We very much welcome these supportive guidelines from NICE. They provide a positive springboard for our continuing efforts to educate both clinicians and patients in the U.K. about the benefits of HIFU with Ablatherm treatment options. Ablatherm is now officially recognized in the U.K."

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