Society of Interventional Radiology Hosts 35th Annual Scientific Meeting

Latest Advances in Minimally Invasive Medicine Featured March 13–18 in Tampa, Fla.

FAIRFAX, Va., March 2 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) will present the latest research on treatments for individuals with liver, breast, soft tissue, colon, prostate, lung and pancreatic cancers; painful spinal fractures; peripheral arterial disease (PAD); uterine fibroids; and more at its 35th Annual Scientific Meeting March 13–18 at the Tampa Convention Center.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100127/SIRLOGO)

More than 5,000 physicians, scientists and allied health professionals are expected to attend this premier IR event. Central to the meeting's theme of "IR Innovation" will be the presentation of painstakingly researched data on how prolific interventional radiologists have been as inventors and the impact their innovations have had in advancing patient care and building the specialty. Hot topic main sessions include a look at practicing interventional radiology in extreme situations (wars, pandemics and natural catastrophes); IR frontiers (molecular medicine and nanotechnology); vertebral augmentation (past, present and future treatments); and future interventional oncology advances. A new categorical course will examine the most controversial interventional radiology-related studies of the past year—including critical review of the latest advances for topics like vertebroplasty, stroke and yttrium-90 cancer treatments.

Highlights of embargoed key interventional radiology studies being presented are listed below. Illustrations and broadcast-quality footage are available for some stories; interviews with lead researchers can be arranged on request.

IR Innovation

Advancing Minimally Invasive Modern Medicine: Interventional Radiologists Lead the Way

From the invention of angioplasty and the catheter-delivered stent, which were both first used to treat peripheral arterial disease in the legs, to drug-coated stents, balloon angioplasty, ozone generators and radiofrequency ablation and clot-removing devices of today—interventional radiologists have continued to shape and change the medical landscape and improve patient care. What are these unique contributions? Advances in minimally invasive treatments will be highlighted at this year's meeting.

(Embargoed for release until Tuesday, March 16, 2010, 9 a.m. Eastern)

Cancer Advances

Using Microspheres: Tiny Treatment for Liver Cancer Patients

About 18,500 cases of primary liver cancer are diagnosed each year; the most common form is hepatocellular carcinoma, a tumor that begins in the main cells of the liver. Interventional radiologists pioneer an intra-arterial treatment for those with primary liver cancer who fail other treatments and who may have obstructed blood flow. What does the future hold for liver cancer patients?

(Embargoed for release until Tuesday, March 16, 2010, 9 a.m. Eastern)

Treating Breast Cancer: Can It Be Given the Cold Shoulder?

In the United States, a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer every three minutes, and one woman will die from the disease every 13 minutes. For these women, as well as the thousands of men diagnosed each year, breast cancer treatments can be highly effective—but often require invasive surgery. What about those who cannot have—or have refused—surgery? Does any treatment show promise?

(Embargoed for release until Tuesday, March 16, 2010, 9 a.m. Eastern)

Pioneering Treatment for Soft Tissue Cancer: The Cold Facts

Last year, it was estimated that 10,660 new cases of soft tissue cancer (including ovarian cancer) were diagnosed, along with 2,750 cases of bone cancer. Are there any improved treatment options for individuals affected by metastases in bone and soft tissues, since patients with multifocal metastatic disease are often not candidates for surgery? Get some cold facts from interventional radiologists.

(Embargoed for release until Tuesday, March 16, 2010, 9 a.m. Eastern)

Treating Recurrent Prostate Cancer: Hot and Cold Sides

Prostate cancer is the third most common cause of death from cancer in men and accounted for 27,360 deaths last year. Most of the 192,280 men diagnosed with cancer of the prostate (adenocarcinoma) in 2009 were older than 50 years of age. Find out more about hot and cold interventional radiology treatments for prostate cancer recurrence after surgical removal of the prostate gland in the first-ever reported cases.

(Embargoed for release until Tuesday, March 16, 2010, 9 a.m. Eastern) B-roll is available.

Living Longer With Colon Cancer: Remarkable Results With Heat

Colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States, with almost 150,000 new patients diagnosed each year. Radiofrequency ablation, a minimally invasive treatment that that applies heat directly in the tumor causing cancer cell death with minimal associated injury to the surrounding normal liver, can prolong these patients' lives—but by how much?

(Embargoed for release until Tuesday, March 16, 2010, 9 a.m. Eastern) B-roll and medical illustrations are available.

Painful Spinal Fractures

Treating Osteoporotic Spinal Fractures: Part 1—Who Should Get Treatment?

Given the current controversy over vertebroplasty—a minimally invasive treatment performed by interventional radiologists in individuals with painful osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures that fail to respond to conventional medical therapy—what's a patient to do? What does examining the experience of thousands of others who have undergone the spine treatment successfully tell us?

(Embargoed for release until Monday, March 15, 2010, 9 a.m. Eastern) Medical illustrations are available.

Treating Non-osteoporotic Spinal Fractures: Part 2—Does Treatment Show Any Benefit?

Is there any reason that spinal fracture treatment (vertebroplasty) should be integrated with the complicated treatment plan of those with multiple myeloma, an incurable (yet treatable) cancer of the bone marrow that causes destructive lesions in bones and makes them more susceptible to fracture? Does this show another beneficial use for vertebroplasty?

(Embargoed for release until Monday, March 15, 2010, 9 a.m. Eastern) Medical illustrations are available.

Women's Health: Uterine Fibroids and Pregnancy, New Treatment

Getting Pregnant/Treating Uterine Fibroids: What's the Relationship?

Twenty to 40 percent of American women 35 and older have uterine fibroids, benign tumors in the uterus that can cause prolonged, heavy menstrual bleeding that can be severe enough to cause anemia or require transfusion and a host of other complications. An increasing number of women are delaying pregnancy until their late thirties, which is also the most likely time for fibroids to develop. Women may not know they have uterine fibroids and undergo in vitro fertilization treatments—rather than getting treatment for fibroids. If they undergo uterine fibroid embolization, can they still get pregnant?

(Embargoed for release until Monday, March 15, 2010, 9 a.m. Eastern) B-roll and medical illustrations are available.

Avoiding Hysterectomy, Surgery: What Minimally Invasive Treatments Are Available?

Uterine fibroids are very common noncancerous (benign) growths that develop in the muscular wall of the uterus. Twenty to 40 percent of women age 35 and older have uterine fibroids of a significant size. African-American women are at a higher risk for fibroids: as many as 50 percent have fibroids of a significant size.

Is there another minimally invasive treatment for uterine fibroids that shows promise? Today, women have interventional radiology options that do not involve the use of a scalpel.

(Embargoed for release until Monday, March 15, 2010, 9 a.m. Eastern) Medical illustrations are available.

Stroke Treatment

Treating and Preventing Stroke: Clearing Blocked Carotid Arteries

Every 45 seconds someone in the United States has a stroke; every three minutes someone dies from a stroke. Each year, 600,000 Americans will have a new or recurrent stroke and, of these, 160,000 will die. Researchers will present information about an important interventional radiology advancement that provides a minimally invasive, safe and effective way to prevent stroke from occurring during treatment to clear blocked carotid arteries.

(Embargoed for release until Monday, March 15, 2010, 9 a.m. Eastern) B-roll and medical illustrations are available.

Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD)

Examining Heart Attack Risk: More Surprises From Novel Predictor

About 25 percent of all heart attacks or sudden cardiac deaths in the United States occur in individuals thought to be at low risk. If these individuals could be identified early on, primary prevention—such as initiating lifestyle changes and medical intervention directed at modifying risk factors—could be started before costlier and more intensive treatments are needed. Interventional radiologists can help improve the accuracy of cardiovascular risk prediction that could significantly impact public health.

(Embargoed for release until Monday, March 15, 2010, 9 a.m. Eastern) B-roll and medical illustrations are available.

Showing Promise: Drug-Eluting Stents for Critical Limb Ischemia

Interventional radiologists are helping peripheral arterial disease (PAD) patients with critical limb ischemia avoid amputation by exploring the treatment of the smaller blood vessels below the knee (typically difficult to treat because of their size) with drug-coated stents. Promising data from Mount Sinai Medical Center about an emerging technology will be presented.

(Embargoed for release until Monday, March 15, 2010, 9 a.m. Eastern) Medical illustration is available.

New Science

Going for the Gold: Possible New Treatment for Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic cancer—known as the most fatal cancer with no known effective treatment—requires a radical new approach. Have interventional radiologists with their vascular expertise found a possible intra-arterial treatment?

(Embargoed for release until Tuesday, March 16, 2010, 9 a.m. Eastern) Medical illustrations are available.

Treating Peripheral Arterial Disease: Stem Cell Therapy Advances

Can stem cells and "bubbles" be used to regenerate blood vessels to open clogged or narrowed arteries in treating peripheral arterial disease (PAD), which affects about 10 million (mostly older) Americans? A major research center presents its findings on advancing this research

(Embargoed for release until Tuesday, March 16, 2010, 9 a.m. Eastern) B-roll and medical illustrations are available.

To register for the Annual Scientific Meeting, visit www.SIRmeeting.org.  

For more information about the Society of Interventional Radiology and its 35th Annual Scientific Meeting, visit online at www.SIRweb.org or www.SIRmeeting.org.

About the Society of Interventional Radiology

Interventional radiologists are physicians who specialize in minimally invasive, targeted treatments. They offer the most in-depth knowledge of the least invasive treatments available coupled with diagnostic and clinical experience across all specialties. They use X-ray, MRI and other imaging to advance a catheter in the body, such as in an artery, to treat at the source of the disease internally. As the inventors of angioplasty and the catheter-delivered stent, which were first used in the legs to treat peripheral arterial disease, interventional radiologists pioneered minimally invasive modern medicine. Today, interventional oncology is a growing specialty area of interventional radiology. Interventional radiologists can deliver treatments for cancer directly to the tumor without significant side effects or damage to nearby normal tissue.

Many conditions that once required surgery can be treated less invasively by interventional radiologists. Interventional radiology treatments offer less risk, less pain and less recovery time compared to open surgery. Visit www.SIRweb.org.

The Society of Interventional Radiology is holding its 35th Annual Scientific Meeting March 13–18 in Tampa, Fla. The theme of the meeting is "IR Innovation," celebrating the remarkable inventiveness of SIR members and highlighting the contribution made to both creating the field of interventional radiology and to improving patient care.

SOURCE Society of Interventional Radiology