LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ, 8 September 2015 – Celsion Corporation (NASDAQ: CLSN), an oncology drug development company, today announced highlights from presentations by three leading experts in the treatment of intermediate primary liver cancer, also known as hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and Celsion's pivotal Phase III OPTIMA Study of ThermoDox®, the Company's proprietary heat-activated liposomal encapsulation of doxorubicin, in combination with optimized radiofrequency ablation (RFA). The symposium, entitled "Intermediate HCC: Cure vs. Palliation," was held on September 5, 2015 at the International Liver Cancer Association (ILCA) 9th Annual Conference in Paris, France and was moderated by Professor Riccardo Lencioni, MD, FSIR, EBIR, Executive Committee member of the ILCA Governing Board.

The three presentations included:

• "Current Management of Intermediate HCC: Unmet Medical Needs," by Ronnie T.P. Poon, MD, MBBS, MS, PhD, FRCS (Edin), FACS, Medical Director at the Hong Kong Integrated Oncology Center, Honorary Professor of Surgery at the University of Hong Kong Queen Mary Hospital, and member of the ILCA Governing Board. Dr. Poon discussed strategies for treating different stages of HCC including intermediate stage HCC which has been previously thought to be incurable. New treatment strategies, most notably an optimized RFA procedure with the investigational drug, ThermoDox®, show clear promise as a potential cure for intermediate HCC in the years ahead.


• "Intermediate HCC Treatment Paradigms and Lessons Learned," by Ghassan K. Abou-Alfa, MD, Professor at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Dr. Abou-Alfa reviewed results from recent clinical studies in intermediate stage primary liver cancer patients, including recent data from Celsion's latest HEAT Study post-hoc analysis which suggests an overall survival benefit of more than two years in the large subgroup of patients treated with ThermoDox plus optimized RFA (RFA ≥ 45 minutes).

• "OPTIMA Phase III Clinical Trial: Study Design and Protocols," by Riccardo Lencioni, MD, FSIR, EBIR, Professor and Director of Diagnostic Imaging and Intervention at Pisa University School of Medicine in Pisa, Italy, Lead European Principal Investigator for Celsion's HEAT Study and member of the ILCA Governing Board. Dr. Lencioni reviewed the latest findings from the HEAT Study post-hoc analysis, which strongly supports the rationale for a minimum 45 minute ablation time when using ThermoDox® and suggests that there could be an important curative role for optimized RFA and ThermoDox® in intermediate HCC. Celsion is currently evaluating ThermoDox® plus optimized RFA in its ongoing Phase III OPTIMA Study, currently enrolling patients in over 75 clinical sites globally.

More HCB News