HIFU Cancer Treatments

If you ever took a magnifying glass and focused the sun's rays to burn a leaf on the ground, you have tested the basic scientific principle behind HIFU as a cancer treatment option. This treatment uses the power of sound waves, much as you did the power of the sun's rays, to target and destroy cancerous tissue deep within the body.

Understanding HIFU

• HIFU is an acronym that stands for High Intensity Focused Ultrasound, and this is an innovative cancer treatment option that uses the power of sound waves to destroy cancerous tissue while minimizing damage to surrounding tissues. While many HIFU devices are still under investigation by the FDA in the United States, cancer treatment centers across the world have been using HIFU to effectively treat a variety of cancers, including liver cancer, prostate cancer and kidney cancer.

  HIFU focuses the energy of several ultrasound waves into one focal point within the body. At that point, the temperature is raised significantly, which heats and destroys the tissue. However, the ultrasound waves only create this heat at the point where they intersect, so they can pass harmlessly through the other tissue, giving doctors a way to treat cancer without the need for an incision. The HIFU delivery device also emits low-intensity ultrasound waves to capture images of the treatment area to help the physician plan and execute the treatment. This treatment is used to treat localized cancers with small tumors.

HIFU Trials and Treatments

• HIFU is under investigation in the United Kingdom as an option to treat small kidney tumors before they have the chance to grow to the point that surgery is required. Because the procedure can target the tumor and some of the area around the tumor, but leave the surrounding tissue unharmed, it gives doctors an option to help patients who wish to keep as much of their kidney as possible intact and functioning. In addition, HIFU has been successfully used to treat bladder cancer in China. As of 2009, clinical trials are underway in cancer research centers around the world for other possible uses of HIFU, including liver, bone and breast cancers.

  HIFU is also used to treat prostate cancer. Because the treatment can target the tissue within the prostate gland while preserving surrounding tissue, it lowers the risk of side effects, like incontinence or impotence, that are common with traditional prostate cancer treatment options. HIFU for prostate cancer is an outpatient procedure that is delivered through a transrectal probe under spinal anesthesia. The treatment destroys the entire prostate gland in an attempt to keep the cancer from returning. Patients who are interested in this option need to find a clinical trial location near them and discuss the potential benefits and risks with their doctor.

Benefits of HIFU

• One of the primary benefits of HIFU treatment is the lack of side effects it causes. Because it requires no incision, it does not cause much blood loss, if any at all. Patients experience some discomfort after treatment, but this typically dissipates after three or four days. The treatment also involves no radiation, so it can be used as a salvage treatment, and it can be repeated. HIFU treatment rarely requires a long stay in the hospital, and researchers at Churchill Hospital in Oxford, United Kingdom, believe that the treatment can strengthen a patient's immunity to cancer.