Precancerous Esophagus Disease Eliminated in 98.4% of Patients Treated With HALO Ablat...( Long-term study confirms treatment ...),Health

Long-term study confirms treatment could help 3.3 million U.S. sufferers

SUNNYVALE, Calif., July 21 /PRNewswire/ -- BARRX Medical, Inc. today announced that 98.4 percent of patients having a precancerous condition of their esophagus called Barrett's esophagus were free of the disease 2.5 years after non-surgical, endoscopic treatment with the HALO ablation system. The results were published this month in Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, a leading scientific publication for gastrointestinal physicians and researchers. Barrett's esophagus develops as a result of chronic gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and afflicts more than 3.3 million people in the United States.

In this clinical trial, eight U.S. centers enrolled 70 patients having intestinal metaplasia, which is the earliest stage of Barrett's esophagus. Due to an elevated risk for developing esophageal cancer, patients with this disorder undergo a lifetime of endoscopic examinations to detect progression to more severe stages of the disease or cancer. Patients in this trial received one or more endoscopic treatments using two components of the HALO ablation system -- the HALO360 and HALO90 ablation catheters -- to remove the diseased cells of the esophagus. The HALO360 intervention treats large, circumferential areas of the esophagus. The HALO90 intervention targets focal, non-circumferential disease.

After treatment, patients in this trial were monitored for 2.5 years and had regular endoscopic examinations to confirm if all the diseased areas were eliminated. At the final evaluation at 2.5 years, 98.4 percent of the patients had achieved a complete response to therapy and had no remaining disease. The researchers also reported a favorable safety profile of the therapy with no serious negative side effects occurring such as narrowing of the esophagus (i.e. strictures) or hidden disease under the healed surface of the esophagus (i.e. buried glands).

David E. Fleischer M.D., Profe
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