Endocare Touts Therapy for Prostate Cancer

Endocare Inc., an Irvine cryosurgical and stent technology company, said Tuesday that new data analyzing its cold treatment of cancer over five years has found that cryoablation is almost as effective as radiation therapies for treating prostate cancer.

The company said in a press release that the five-center study, involving 975 subjects, showed comparable success rates of cryoablation and radiation therapy, including brachytherapy, in treating prostate cancer patients.

In cryoablation, argon gas is used to freeze or destroy cancerous tissue.

The study also showed that cryoablation can be more effective than brachytherapy in eliminating the disease in medium and high-risk patients, the company said.

Endocare stock fell 28 cents Tuesday to close at $8.75 on Nasdaq.