TheraLase Technologies Inc (CVE:TLT, OTCMKTS:TLTFF) revealed its photo dynamic therapy (PDT) technology had been used for the first time in human clinical testing - a major milestone.
The first patient was treated on March 30 for non-muscle invasive bladder (NMIBC) cancer, the firm said.
It is part of the Phase Ib NMIBC clinical study to evaluate its lead cancer compound TLD-1433.
READ - Laser specialist TheraLase Technologies primed for a pivotal year
READ - TheraLase Technologies shares up on positive data on lead cancer compound
Theralase chief executive Roger Dumoulin-White said it was a "major milestone" achievement, which significantly de-risked the company "by shifting it from a pre-clinical to now a clinical biotech organization in oncology".
"Theralase looks forward to successfully treating the next 2 patients and reporting out on the status of the first three patients in the study in 2Q2017."
The procedure sees Theralase's lead anti-cancer compound put through the urethra into the bladder.
The bladder is then drained of the solution, flushed with sterile water to remove excess solution and refilled with sterile water.
At this point, a fibre optic assembly, with the ability to both emit and detect laser light, is inserted through the cystoscope, to activate the compound.
These photo dynamic compounds (PDCs) are able to localize to cancer cells and then when laser light activated, effectively destroy them.
The next two patients have been enrolled in the study designed to treat three patients at a lower dose of the PDC and to monitor the patients for 30 days.
If successful, then six more patients will be enrolled to be treated at a higher dose and monitored for 180 days.
Shares in Toronto raced up 12.7% to $0.355.