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SISKO FOUNDATION AWARDS TWO GRANTS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 14, 2005

Contact:

Raleigh - In its continuing fight against breast cancer, the Raleigh based Sisko Foundation has announced it is awarding two grants. Sicel Technologies of Morrisville will receive $10,000 and UNC's Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center will receive $4,000. The Sisko Foundation has raised over $135,000 in the past four years, mainly through its annual "Raise A Racquet Against Breast Cancer" tennis event. Monies raised are always donated locally.

Sicel Technology's grant will fund further development of an implantable sensor to manage the effects of chemotherapy used for breast cancer patients. "This grant will enable us to continue to miniaturize the fluorescence sensor so that it can be encapsulated for implantation at the site of the tumor," said Sicel's Dr. Robert Black. The sensor is able to detect the absorption and concentration of labeled antibody drugs, indicating whether a tumor has absorbed the drug.

This type of sensor may, overtime, allow physicians to know the concentration of a drug present at the tumor site and, therefore, if whether or not a drug level falls within the desired therapeutic range, thus allowing for more precise and individualized therapy. "We are so pleased that the Sisko Foundation shares our vision," said Sicel's founder Dr. Charles Scarantino.

The Sisko Foundation gave Sicel a similar grant in 2003. "When looking for a grant recipient for this year, we thought it made sense to go back to Sicel as their work is so important for breast cancer, we wanted to continue to help fund their efforts," said Michelle Siler co-founder and president of the Sisko Foundation.

Sisko has also awarded $4,000 to the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. The grant will support the UNC Breast Center's Partial Breast Treatment Using Single Dose Intraoperative Radiotherapy for Patients with Early Stage Breast Cancer.

This treatment offers a more convenient, potentially less toxic course of radiotherapy for patients with small breast cancers who may have difficulty with a daily regimen of whole breast radiation due to family, work obligations, or travel to a radiotherapy center. This new procedure aims to give a patient a lumpectomy, sentinel node biopsy and a single dose of radiation directed into the tumor bed, all in one day.

Michelle Siler and Susan Barry, both breast cancer survivors, created the Sisko Foundation as a way to reach out to others diagnosed with the disease. Sisko's mission is to raise awareness of breast cancer, fund improvements in research and treatment and support of breast cancer patients and their families to reduce and eliminate the effects of this disease. Approximately 6,760 women and 1,450 men in North Carolina were diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004.

The 2005 "Raise A Racquet Against Breast Cancer" event is set for October 7-9.