Xoft's Electronic Brachytherapy Hits Milestone With 10 New Skin Cancer Installations

ATLANTA, April 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Xoft, Inc., developer of the Axxent® Electronic Brachytherapy, eBx™ System, which delivers non-radioactive, electronic radiation therapy directly to cancer sites with minimal radiation exposure to surrounding healthy tissue, announced 10 new installations of the Axxent eBx System for the treatment of skin cancer. The announcement was made here at the 2010 Annual Meeting of the American Brachytherapy Society (ABS), April 29-May 1.

The Company also announced that since the skin and surface applicator was launched less than six months ago, more than 100 skin cancer patients have been treated using the eBx technology. At many sites, the eBx systems are being used to clinically treat patients for breast, endometrial and skin cancer.

"Despite being a viable treatment option, few of our skin cancer cases were getting radiation therapy until we adopted the Xoft Electronic Brachytherapy System. With traditional external beam treatment patients often receive 30-35 fractions, with eBx, treatment can be completed in 5-10 fractions. In addition, the absence of a radioactive isotope and heavy shielding makes patients much more comfortable selecting this option," said Sachin Kamath, M.D., Medical Director Radiation Oncology at Diablo Valley Oncology in Pleasant Hill, Calif. "While we don't expect to treat all skin cancer patients with radiation therapy, when radiation is appropriate, particularly cases involving cosmetically sensitive areas, Electronic Brachytherapy is an excellent option for our patients and referring dermatologists."

In addition to skin indications, the system is also FDA cleared for surface indications, which means that many intraoperative radiation therapy procedures can be performed with the Xoft source, while surgery is being performed. IORT potentially reduces the time required for radiation therapy by delivering it immediately during surgery before any remaining cancer cells have a chance to grow.

"We are in early stage program development with our IORT program utilizing the Xoft Electronic Brachytherapy technology as we strongly believe IORT can be a powerful way to treat recurrent cancers especially when you are trying to minimize the dose of radiation to an area that has been previously irradiated," said Michael Baird, M.D., Clinical Director, Radiation Oncology at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. "A major advantage of the Electronic Brachytherapy System is that it does not require significant shielding, making it an ideal tool to transport to the OR for an IORT case.

"Additionally, IORT can be administered as a boost in combination with external beam radiation therapy to decrease the dose and number of treatments required. This is important, as the normal surrounding tissue may not be tolerant of the external beam radiation dose required for the radiation therapy to be effective," added Dr. Baird.

Available for treatment of early stage breast cancer, endometrial cancer, and skin cancer, the Axxent eBx System is also FDA-cleared for IORT (intra-operative radiation therapy). As a platform technology, the Axxent System is designed to deliver non-radioactive therapy directly to cancer sites with minimal radiation exposure to surrounding healthy tissue. Utilizing a proprietary miniaturized X-ray source and robotic controller, the system can be used to deliver radiation in minimally shielded therapeutic settings. Treatment can be performed without the need for a shielded room, allowing radiation oncologists and medical personnel to be present during treatment which minimizes patient anxiety.

"With minimal radiation exposure to healthy tissues and rapid dose fall-off, Electronic Brachytherapy delivers targeted treatment that is professionally validated and patient friendly," said Michael Klein, President and CEO of Xoft. "When eBx was first introduced as an X-ray-based, electronic treatment option for early stage breast cancer, it represented a paradigm shifting technology, supporting the development of a suite of interventional radiation oncology tools. As we have launched additional applications and indications, we are pleased with the strong support and rapid adoption of these multi-disciplinary approaches for use of Electronic Brachytherapy to deliver safe, targeted treatment."

About Xoft, Inc.

Xoft develops Electronic Brachytherapy (eBx) systems based upon miniaturized X-ray tube technology for the practice of radiation oncology in virtually any clinical setting, eliminating the need for heavily shielded environments. The Axxent® treatment platform provides a therapeutic dose of radiation directly to the region at risk with minimal radiation exposure to surrounding healthy tissue and without the complex handling, resource logistics and costs associated with using radioactive isotopes. Xoft aligns with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) directive to seek alternatives for radioactive medical isotopes. Commercially available for treatment of early stage breast cancer, skin cancer and endometrial cancer indications, the Axxent Electronic Brachytherapy System is also cleared for use in the treatment of other cancers or conditions where radiation therapy is indicated. For information, visit www.xoftinc.com.

Axxent is a registered trademark of Xoft, Inc.

SOURCE Xoft, Inc.