Uptake Medical Reports First-In-Human Use of Intervapor System

Tustin, Cali.-based Uptake Medical’s Intervapor targeted vapor therapy system has been used for the first time in a regional lung cancer tumor ablation procedure.

A patient diagnosed with colorectal cancer with metastasis to the lung underwent the procedure, which was performed by Arschang Valipour, M.D., interventional pulmonologist at The Otto-Wagner-Spital Hospital in Vienna, Austria. Valipour is a lead clinical investigator in a new treat-and-resect clinical trial evaluating Intervapor’s potential applicability to treat patients with early stage lung cancer and lung metastases.

Using a “regional” approach, Valipour accessed the patient’s left upper lobe sub-segment via a standard thin bronchoscope and placed the catheter in the airway. He confirmed the location with X-ray and ultrasound and then delivered 8 seconds of Intervapor’s targeted vapor therapy to the lung region surrounding the tumor, with the intention of isolating and ultimately killing the tumor while simultaneously preserving adjacent tissue. The entire bronchoscopic procedure was completed in approximately 10 minutes. The patient then underwent the scheduled surgical resection to remove the area of the lung cancer tumor. Histopathology analysis confirmed that a homogeneous ablation zone had been created around the tumor following natural anatomical boundaries. Successful ablation of 90 percent of the tumor itself was completed, and complete tumor death was projected within three days following the procedure.

“Intervapor is the only therapy with the promise of quick, simple, complete bronchoscopic ablation of lung tumor with margin,” said Valipour. “The vapor followed the patient’s anatomical boundaries and we successfully completed this first-in-human case without penetrating the tumor or puncturing adjacent healthy tissues, while creating a well-defined and controlled margin within the lung.”

According to the World Health Organization, lung cancer is the most common and deadliest cancer worldwide, accounting for 1.8 million new cases and 1.6 million deaths in 2012, while the American Cancer Society reports that lung cancer claims more lives than colorectal, breast and prostate cancers combined. Historically, patients were treated only after becoming symptomatic, which usually indicated advanced disease and poor prognoses; even today, only an estimated one-third of all lung cancer patients are considered candidates for conventional surgical treatment3. However, as newer imaging and diagnosing technologies accelerate earlier detection of lung cancers, demand for less-invasive interventions increases, particularly for patients with inoperable, multifocal, or recurrent lung cancer.

“Current treatment options for lung cancer often require patients to undergo invasive surgery or tolerate toxic chemicals,” said King Nelson, president and CEO of Uptake Medical. “We are very encouraged by the initial clinical results from Intervapor’s first-in-human case, and hope that regional tumor ablation performed with vapor will ultimately represent a new hope as a treatment option for the thousands of people worldwide who are battling lung cancer.”

Uptake Medical makes technology to treat lung cancer and emphysema without the risks of surgery and implants or the toxicity of radiation.