BSD Medical is Now Pyrexar Medical

The Hyperthermia European Adjuvant Trial (HEAT) was a study that involved 117 patients with pancreatic cancer. It was an open-label, multicenter trial with two groups: a control group and an adjuvant therapy group. The control group received only gemcitabine, a standard chemotherapy drug, while the adjuvant therapy group received gemcitabine along with cisplatin and hyperthermia, using the BSD-2000 3D Deep Regional Hyperthermia System.

Although the disease-free survival was slightly better in the group receiving hyperthermia (12.7 months) compared to the control group (11.2 months), the 5-year overall survival was much better in the hyperthermia group (28.4%) compared to the control group (18.7%). This is a significant increase compared to the 5-year overall survival rate for PDAC of ~20%.

Note: In the middle of the study, the standard of care was changed from gemcitabine to folfirinox, which prevented the population of the study from reaching the original target.

The study, "Regional hyperthermia with cisplatin added to gemcitabine versus gemcitabine in patients with resected pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: The HEAT randomised clinical trial" by Dr. Rolf Isles et al, was published in the European Journal of Cancer. [Eur J Cancer. 2022;181:155-165. doi:10.1016/j.ejca.2022.12.009]. A link to the abstract can be found here.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to announce the opening of the Tumor Hyperthermia Center and the installation of a Pyrexar BSD-2000 Deep Regional Hyperthermia System. The recent addition of a Mevion radiotherapy system makes this the first dual therapy, deep regional hyperthermia/proton center in Asia. 

The BSD-2000 Hyperthermia System is used to treat cancer tumors and aid radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatments by raising the tumor micro-environment to 43˚C. This increase in temperature improves blood flow and perfusions, promotes immune modulation, prevents cancer cells from DNA repair and leads to cancer cell death.

The facility, located in the Guangdong Province, is a joint-venture between Jinshazhou Hospital and Australia's ICON Group. The University of Wollongong in New South Wales also collaborates with the center to provide medical physics research, training, and education.

A special thank you to the team at Orientech for their hard work and dedication in placing this system in the hospital.

On June 17, Tübingen University Hospital officially inaugurated its new BSD-2000 3D/MR Image-Guided Hyperthermia System (IGHT), supplied by Pyrexar Medical/Dr. Sennewald Medizintechnik GmbH/ and Philips Healthcare.

Image-Guided Hyperthermia uses live MRI images to verify optimal tumor temperature to ensure optimal radiosensitizing benefits of the therapy. This non-invasive approach allows the operator to move the thermal zone or adjust power output with a touchscreen interface.  The steering process avoids patient applicator repositioning or the interruption of treatment, improving workflow and thermal dose.

This state-of-the-art system will be shared by the Clinic for Radiation Oncology and the Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology. In this way, it not only serves cancer treatment but will also be used for diagnostic imaging, primarily for pediatric radiology. 

The photo above shows those taking part in the celebrations: (left to right, Copyright Universitätsklinikum Tübingen/Janina Fischer) Prof. Dr. Daniel Zips (Director of the University Department of Radiation Oncology), Susanne Schäfer (MTA in radiology), Prof. Dr. Michael Bamberg (Chief Medical Director and Chairman of the Executive Board), Dr. Gerhard Sennewald (CEO), Prof. Dr. Konstantin Nikolaou (Director of the University Department of Radiology and of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology), Prof. Dr. Jürgen Schäfer (Head of Pediatric Radiology), and Thomas Richter of Philips GmbH.

After taking a two year break due to COVID restrictions, the CME accredited educational program offered by the University of Maryland, School of Thermal Oncology is now open for registration.

The last session drew an international crowd, including physicians from South Korea, Poland, and Japan, as well as prominent cancer centers here in the U.S. The feedback we received, and this was a five-star educational program, valuable to any member of a thermal oncology team.  Topics covered all aspects of practice management, patient treatment, physics, and workflow. Practice managers shared how adding thermal oncology to their services increased overall service revenue by over 19%.  This information is essential for centers that would like to add hyperthermia systems but require cost justification to receive purchase approval.

In 2022, the course will be held October 6th-7th in Baltimore Maryland. 
Registration is limited to 24 seats.

Pyrexar Medical continues to support educational outreach from organizations like the University of Maryland, Society of Thermal Medicine, European Society for Hyperthermic Oncology, and similar institutions that strive to move forward hyperthermia research in the treatment of cancer. The CME course outline can be found here.