HIFU treatment: Treatment of pancreatic carcinoma with focused ultrasound in Germany

3/04/2016

Treatment of pancreatic carcinoma with focused ultrasound in Germany

A group of German doctors from Bonn University testified that Ultrasound Guided High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (USgHIFU) ablation of pancreatic carcinoma is a safe, effective and feasible treatment with a crucial benefit in terms of reducing tumour volume and pain intensity.

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In their report on a journal of European Radiology, a total of 13 patients with unresectable pancreatic cancer (7 men, 6 women, aged 66.2 ± 10.8 years) were treated with USgHIFU in a single session under general anaesthesia: 12 had locally advanced disease at time of diagnosis, 1 local tumour recurrence following surgery and radiotherapy. Initial tumour volumes ranged from 12.6 to 61.8 mL (34.3 ± 17.9 mL).

In their study, USgHIFU was successfully performed on all patients. Average tumour reduction was 34.2% at 6 weeks and 63.9% at 3 months. Complete or partial relief of cancer related pain was achieved in 10 patients (77%), 5 of whom required less analgesics for pain control. Quality of life was improved revealing increased systemic health status, physical functioning, emotional functioning and alleviated symptoms (insomnia, appetite loss and dyspnoea). USgHIFU treatment was well tolerated.

No severe adverse effects were discovered from this research. Eight of 13 patients experienced mild to severe transient abdominal pain for up to 24 h immediately after USgHIFU. One patient showed a minor superficial umbilical second-degree burn 2 days after HIFU, an induration of subcutaneous fat tissue within the upper anterior abdominal wall was observed in one patient, both resolving spontaneously within 3 weeks and 6 weeks, respectively. Local short-lasting edema of the upper anterior abdominal wall was detected in six patients, and resolved within 7-10 days without specific treatment.

Collectively, this research data indicate that HIFU can be safely and successfully applied toward tumour volume reduction and alleviation of cancer-related pain in pancreatic cancer.

Findings of the German doctors have suggested that HIFU is a promising technique to manage patients with advanced pancreatic cancer for reducing the pain intensity and volume of pancreatic carcinoma. Quality of life can be significantly improved.