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| WiredBird P-R News |
Gateway to Information, Education, Links about Prostate Cancer . . . Supports Company?s Commitment to Patient and Physician EducationPrinceton, NJ, November 1, 1999 ? /WiredBird P-R News/ Nycomed Amersham Imaging, the leader in in-vivo diagnostic imaging and a leading provider of radiotherapy products, today launched a new Web site -- ProstateCancerSurvival.com -- to provide patients with a gateway to information about prostate cancer, treatment options, and links to additional resources. The Company introduced the site as part of its ongoing commitment to patient and physician education. "As suppliers of the ONCOSEED? brand of the world?s leading iodine I-125 seed for the treatment of prostate cancer, we recognize that immediate access to reliable information is an important factor when patients are facing prostate cancer," said Daniel L. Peters, President of Nycomed Amersham Imaging in the Americas. "Our site provides patients with information about the disease, treatment options available, clinical data and technical information, and links to other cancer resources," Peters noted. Sites that will be linked are the American Cancer Society, CaP Cure, Inc., the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship, the National Prostate Cancer Coalition and the Prostate Health Council, among others. In addition to background information about the disease itself, ProstateCancerSurvival.com will also provide detailed information about Nycomed Amersham Imaging?s ONCOSEED, and data on usage and survival with this option. Physicians will have access to technical information on the use of ONCOSEED and patient survival data over a 10-year period. Nycomed Amersham Imaging's ONCOSEED is the only seed backed by 10-year published peer-reviewed clinical data. A bibliography of published articles is included on the Web site to provide doctors with detailed information about brachytherapy. Nycomed Amersham Imaging's ONCOSEED brand of I-125 seeds is a tiny radioactive seed implanted into the prostate where they irradiate the tumor (typically around 100 seeds are implanted). This type of brachytherapy is a non-surgical outpatient procedure and within days of the procedure, most patients are back to their everyday activities. In addition to ONCOSEED, Nycomed Amersham Imaging also markets the proprietary RAPID Strand? delivery system. With this system, which was launched in 1995, ONCOSEED is distributed in a rigid, absorbable suture material. RAPID Strand permits precise placement of ONCOSEED, and holds it in position, facilitating optimal delivery of therapeutic radiation. Currently, one in four prostate cancer patients is treated using seed implants. Other choices for the initial treatment of prostate cancer, which patients should discuss with their physician, include radical prostatectomy (a major surgical procedure that entails removal of the prostate) or external beam radiation.Recently published clinical studies have demonstrated the value of using ONCOSEED in patients with Gleason score 7, indicative of a more aggressive prostate cancer. Gleason scores, which range from 2 to 10, are calculated based on a microscopic pathological analysis, and are used to quantify the aggressiveness of the tumor. Studies with ONCOSEED have yielded 10-year follow-up results that document better biochemical disease-free survival than comparable external beam radiation series and are equivalent to disease-free results from surgical series. Nycomed Amersham Imaging is a research-based pharmaceutical company dedicated to providing health care professionals with products that expand and improve their diagnostic capabilities and contribute to treatment of disease. Headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey, Nycomed Amersham Imaging is part of Nycomed Amersham plc (NYSE:NYE; LSE:NAM). Nycomed Amersham plc is a world leader in in-vivo diagnostic imaging and in life sciences. The company has annual sales of ?1.1 billion (approximately U.S. $1.85 billion) and around 8,500 employees worldwide. For complete indications, warnings and contraindications for the products described above, contact Nycomed Amersham Imaging's Professional Services Department at 800-654-0118.
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