Potential Breakthrough Cancer Treatment Emerges from MIPS-Funded Clinical Trial Teaming CSA Medical Inc. and University of Maryland R...( Results presented today at Americ...),Health

Results presented today at American College of Gastroenterology's Annual Meeting

COLLEGE PARK, Md., Oct. 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A clinical trial conducted by University of Maryland School of Medicine researchers and CSA Medical Inc. may yield a breakthrough treatment for pre-cancerous and cancerous diseases of the esophagus.

Results of the trial, supported by the Maryland Industrial Partnerships Program (MIPS), show that a technique called CryoSpray Ablation (TM) (CSA) can reduce and often eliminate pre-cancerous and cancerous lesions in patients, including those with Barrett's esophagus, a precursor to cancer involving esophageal lesions created by chronic acid reflux.

Trial results will be presented today at the American College of Gastroenterology's Annual Scientific Meeting in Philadelphia by Bruce Greenwald, M.D., associate professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, who was principal investigator of the study. The trial was conducted at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore.

"Esophageal cancer is as lethal as lung cancer and is one of the fastest growing cancers in the Western world right now," says Tim Askew, president and CEO of CSA Medical. "More than 6 million people in the U.S. have Barrett's esophagus, while 65 million people suffer from GastroEsophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), also called "acid reflux" or "heartburn". Approximately 350,000 persons with GERD develop more dangerous lesions, while 15,000 develop cancer annually, according to Askew.

CSA Medical's CryoSpray Ablation (TM) platform sprays liquid nitrogen on pre-cancerous or cancerous tissue, freezing and killing the malignant cells. Malignant cells die and slough off harmlessly, while normal tissue grows back.

"Most patients don't feel any significant pain and say it is a non-event," says Askew. "One patient said that finding parking was more difficult than the procedure. No other therapy for th
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