Zila Awarded Contract to Distribute ViziLite® Plus by U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Zila, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZILA) today announced that it has been awarded a contract by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to market its oral cancer screening product, ViziLite® Plus with TBlue630™, to 58 Veterans Administration dental clinics and 154 . . .
Zila Awarded Contract to Distribute ViziLite® Plus by U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
— Company to Market Oral Cancer Screening Product To VA Dental Clinics and Military Bases —
PHOENIX, Arizona – December 18, 2007 – Zila, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZILA) today announced that it has been awarded a contract by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to market its oral cancer screening product, ViziLite® Plus with TBlue630™, to 58 Veterans Administration dental clinics and 154 Department of Defense dental clinics.
“ViziLite Plus is the leading adjunctive oral cancer screening technology enabling dentists and hygienists to identify oral abnormalities that can lead to oral cancer,” said Frank J. Bellizzi, DMD, president of Zila Pharmaceuticals. “This contract award will allow us to make our potentially life-saving product available to the 7.9 million veterans enrolled in the VA Health Care System and more than 1.3 million men and women in active military service – a population that is frequently at increased risk for oral cancer.”
ViziLite Plus utilizes a chemiluminescent light source (ViziLite) and a patented pharmaceutical-grade vital tissue dye (TBlue630) to enhance the identification of oral abnormalities that can lead to cancer. A ViziLite Plus exam is entirely pain-free, takes only minutes, and should be a key part of every adult’s annual dental check-up. More information about ViziLite Plus and oral cancer is available at www.ViziLite.com.
About Oral Cancer
Oral cancer is among the most deadly cancer types, largely because approximately two-thirds of all oral cancers are detected at advanced stages. Treatment for advanced cases often results in disfigurement and a significant decline in quality of life. When oral cancer is detected in its earliest stage the 5-year survival rate is 81%. When detected at late stage, the 5-year survival rate plummets to 26%.
The American Cancer Society estimates about 34,360 new cases (24,180 in men and 10,180 in women) of oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancer will be diagnosed in the United States in 2007. An estimated 7,550 people (5,180 men and 2,370 women) will die of oral cancer in 2007. The American Cancer Society lists the following risk factors:
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age – all adult
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gender – more men than women develop oral cancer
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smoking – particularly if combined with heavy alcohol consumption
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chewing tobacco or using snuff – teens are also susceptible
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heavy alcohol consumption – particularly if combined with smoking
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excessive sun exposure to the lips
A recent report in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that exposure to the sexually transmitted human papilloma virus number 16 (HPV16), causes oropharyngeal cancer (a type of oral cancer), and may help explain the increasing incidence of the disease in younger people.
According to the American Dental Association, more than 25% of oral cancers occur in people who do not smoke and have no other behavioral risk factors.
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