Endocare Predicts U.S. Approval of Treatment

Endocare Inc., an Irvine developer of cold-surgery and stent technologies, said Tuesday that it expects federal approval of Medicare coverage for its treatment of prostate cancer for patients who don’t respond to radiation therapy.

The company said the approval could come this week for the procedure, called cryosurgery, which uses extremely cold temperatures to kill diseased tissue.

The government in July 1999 approved Medicare coverage of the Endocare system as a primary treatment for prostate cancer. The change would provide Medicare coverage of cryosurgery as a second option when radiation fails.