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CyberKnife Radiosurgery Used to Treat More Than 3,000 Prostate Cancer Patients Worldwide

Posted on: Thursday, 23 April 2009, 07:30 CDT

Accuray to Present CyberKnife Capabilities at Leading Urology Annual Meeting

SUNNYVALE, Calif., April 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Accuray Incorporated (Nasdaq: ARAY), a global leader in the field of radiosurgery, announced today that more than 3,000 prostate cancer patients have been treated to date worldwide using the CyberKnife(R) Robotic Radiosurgery System. In fact, in the third quarter of Accuray's fiscal year, approximately 400 prostate cancer patients were treated. The company will be presenting the unique capabilities of the CyberKnife System at this year's American Urological Association (AUA) Annual Meeting, April 25-30 in Chicago, Illinois.

On Sunday, April 26 from 3:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m. CDT, CyberKnife radiosurgery will be featured as part of the AUA's Industry Clinical Update Theater, which offers a variety of educational talks and presentations during the Annual Meeting. Lee Ponsky, M.D., chief of the Division of Urologic Oncology, University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio; and David Spellberg, M.D., Urologist, Naples Urology Associates in Naples, Florida, will present a technical, clinical and business overview of the CyberKnife System, as well as their experience to date treating prostate cancer. The Industry Clinical Update Theater is centrally located at McCormick Place within the Science and Technology Hall.

Considerable interest in CyberKnife radiosurgery is expected at this year's meeting, following last month's publication of clinical results from a prospective study of CyberKnife radiosurgery for prostate cancer that demonstrated 100 percent PSA response at 33 months. While longer-term follow up is underway, the highly encouraging conclusions from this study, coupled with heightened media attention and patient demand, have made the CyberKnife System increasingly a topic of discussion amongst urologists worldwide.

Accuray continues to recognize the importance of prostate treatment under IRB approved protocols and is committed to enabling access to the highest quality research opportunities through the funding of such multi-center studies. Currently more than 40 CyberKnife centers in the United States are involved in Accuray sponsored prostate studies - http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00643994 and http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00643617 - and an additional number of centers are involved in independent prostate study efforts.

As a non-invasive treatment for prostate cancer, CyberKnife radiosurgery can provide many patients with a painless alternative to surgery. Using pinpoint accuracy to deliver high doses of radiation to moving targets such as the prostate, CyberKnife radiosurgery is typically complete in five or fewer brief outpatient visits. Other radiation delivery techniques typically require 40 daily treatments that can amount to a two month treatment regimen.

"Clinicians are recognizing the benefits of CyberKnife radiosurgery in the treatment of prostate cancer and the important role it can play in the care of their patients, as demonstrated by the thousands of prostate cancer patients treated thus far," said Eric P. Lindquist, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at Accuray. "We look forward to a lively meeting full of discussion, education and experience sharing with some of the top urologists in the field."

Accuray will be exhibiting at booth # 5012. Please visit www.aua2009.org for more information on this year's meeting.

About the CyberKnife(R) Robotic Radiosurgery System

The CyberKnife Robotic Radiosurgery System is the world's only robotic radiosurgery system designed to treat tumors anywhere in the body non-invasively. Using continual image guidance technology and computer controlled robotic mobility, the CyberKnife System automatically tracks, detects and corrects for tumor and patient movement in real-time throughout the treatment. This enables the CyberKnife System to deliver high-dose radiation with pinpoint precision, which minimizes damage to surrounding healthy tissue and eliminates the need for invasive head or body stabilization frames.

About Accuray

Accuray Incorporated (Nasdaq: ARAY), based in Sunnyvale, Calif., is a global leader in the field of radiosurgery dedicated to providing an improved quality of life and a non-surgical treatment option for those diagnosed with cancer. Accuray develops and markets the CyberKnife Robotic Radiosurgery System, which extends the benefits of radiosurgery to include extracranial tumors, including those in the spine, lung, prostate, liver and pancreas. To date, the CyberKnife System has been used to treat more than 60,000 patients worldwide and currently more than 155 systems have been installed in leading hospitals in the Americas, Europe and Asia. For more information, please visit www.accuray.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

The foregoing may contain certain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including uncertainties associated with the medical device industry. Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this press release, including statements relating to clinical studies, commercialization of products, and regulatory review and approval are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date the statements are made and are based on information available at the time those statements are made and/or management's good faith belief as of that time with respect to future events. You should not put undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual performance and results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements we make include: market acceptance of products; competing products, the combination of our products with complementary technology; and other risks detailed from time to time under the heading "Risk Factors" in our report on Form 10-K for the 2008 fiscal year, as updated in our Form 10-Q filed on February 5, 2009 and our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company's actual results of operations may differ significantly from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements as a result of these and other factors. We assume no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect actual performance or results, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting forward-looking information, except to the extent required by applicable securities laws.

SOURCE Accuray Inc.

Source: PR Newswire

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