MIT Radar Technology Enters Phase II Trials.(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, thermotherapy for breast cancer)

2001 JAN 18 - (NewsRx.com) -- An Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researcher's work on radar technology to detect missiles will be applied in U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved Phase II clinical trials for the treatment of breast cancer.

A Phase I clinical trial was completed in July 2000. In the Phase II trials, more than 100 women will receive focused microwave thermotherapy to heat breast cancer cells to about 115 degrees Fahrenheit, killing them.

"This is an out-patient procedure. Patients treated in the Phase I trial went home with only one or two tiny band aids," said Alan J. Fenn, senior staff member in the Air Defense Technology Division at MIT's Lincoln Laboratory. Fenn invented this new breast cancer treatment technique.

On December 11, 2000, Celsion Corporation (Columbia, Maryland), which exclusively licenses the technology from MIT and is developing the clinical system, announced that it had received FDA approval for two clinical studies using focused microwave thermotherapy for treating breast cancer.

"About 10 years ago we were working on radar anti-jamming technology to detect missiles from space-borne satellites," Fenn explained.

In the Strategic Defense Initiative, the main objective was to develop concepts and technology to quickly detect a missile launch, then destroy the missile over the enemy's territory as a deterrent.

"As the Cold War was ending and we were asked to look for alternative applications, I discovered that this same focused microwave technology for missile detection could, in theory, be used to treat cancer cells," he added. It is well established that heat kills cancer cells, but "researchers were having trouble using it to treat cancer deep within the body without burning the skin."