Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
7.4
5.2
Journals
Cancers
Special Issues
Ultrasound-Based Treatments of Cancer
share announcement

Ultrasound-Based Treatments of Cancer

A special issue of Cancers (ISSN 2072-6694). This special issue belongs to the section "Cancer Therapy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2022) | Viewed by 53371

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Gail Ter Haar

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Physics, Division of Radiotherapy and Imaging, The Institute of Cancer Research, Sutton, London SM2 5NG, UK
Interests: therapy ultrasound; thermal ablation; cavitation; ultrasound bio-effects; cancer research; vascular occlusion
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Although ultrasound has been considered for its therapeutic possibilities since the 1940s, it is only now that its full potential is approaching being realized. Apart from its use for diagnosis, medical ultrasound has therapeutic benefits due to the different mechanisms that come into play in its interaction with tissue. The temperature rise produced by absorption of ultrasonic energy in tissue can either be harnessed to produce thermal ablation, or to induce hyperthermic temperatures that have synergistic effects with chemo- or radiotherapy. Ultrasonically driven bubbles can enhance drug delivery or emulsify tissue, depending on the acoustic pressure and mode of delivery.

This Special Issue will cover these exciting interactions, and shed light on how they are used in the search for more effective ways of treating cancer.

Prof. Dr. Gail ter Haar
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Cancers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • ultrasound therapy
  • HIFU
  • FUS
  • hyperthermia
  • acoustic cavitation
  • histotripsy

Published Papers (10 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

18 pages, 3310 KiB  
Article
Impact of Histotripsy on Development of Intrahepatic Metastases in a Rodent Liver Tumor Model
by Tejaswi Worlikar, Man Zhang, Anutosh Ganguly, Timothy L. Hall, Jiaqi Shi, Lili Zhao, Fred T. Lee, Mishal Mendiratta-Lala, Clifford S. Cho and Zhen Xu
Cancers 2022, 14(7), 1612; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers14071612 - 22 Mar 2022
Cited by 21 | Viewed by 24734
Abstract
Histotripsy has been used for tumor ablation, through controlled, non-invasive acoustic cavitation. This is the first study to evaluate the impact of partial histotripsy ablation on immune infiltration, survival outcomes, and metastasis development, in an in vivo orthotopic, immunocompetent rat HCC model (McA-RH7777). [...] Read more.
Histotripsy has been used for tumor ablation, through controlled, non-invasive acoustic cavitation. This is the first study to evaluate the impact of partial histotripsy ablation on immune infiltration, survival outcomes, and metastasis development, in an in vivo orthotopic, immunocompetent rat HCC model (McA-RH7777). At 7–9 days post-tumor inoculation, the tumor grew to 5–10 mm, and ~50–75% tumor volume was treated by ultrasound-guided histotripsy, by delivering 1–2 cycle histotripsy pulses at 100 Hz PRF (focal peak negative pressure P– >30 MPa), using a custom 1 MHz transducer. Complete local tumor regression was observed on MRI in 9/11 histotripsy-treated rats, with no local recurrence or metastasis up to the 12-week study end point, and only a <1 mm residual scar tissue observed on histology. In comparison, 100% of untreated control animals demonstrated local tumor progression, developed intrahepatic metastases, and were euthanized at 1–3 weeks. Survival outcomes in histotripsy-treated animals were significantly improved compared to controls (p-value < 0.0001). There was evidence of potentially epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in control tumor and tissue healing in histotripsy-treated tumors. At 2- and 7-days post-histotripsy, increased immune infiltration of CD11b+, CD8+ and NK cells was observed, as compared to controls, which may have contributed to the eventual regression of the untargeted tumor region in histotripsy-treated tumors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ultrasound-Based Treatments of Cancer)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

17 pages, 2651 KiB  
Article
Development of Preclinical Ultrasound Imaging Techniques to Identify and Image Sentinel Lymph Nodes in a Cancerous Animal Model
by Marion Bacou, Vidya Rajasekaran, Adrian Thomson, Sandra Sjöstrand, Katarzyna Kaczmarek, Anna Maria Ochocka-Fox, Adam D. Gerrard, Susan Moug, Tomas Jansson, Helen Mulvana, Carmel M. Moran and Susan M. Farrington
Cancers 2022, 14(3), 561; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers14030561 - 22 Jan 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3981
Abstract
Lymph nodes (LNs) are believed to be the first organs targeted by colorectal cancer cells detached from a primary solid tumor because of their role in draining interstitial fluids. Better detection and assessment of these organs have the potential to help clinicians in [...] Read more.
Lymph nodes (LNs) are believed to be the first organs targeted by colorectal cancer cells detached from a primary solid tumor because of their role in draining interstitial fluids. Better detection and assessment of these organs have the potential to help clinicians in stratification and designing optimal design of oncological treatments for each patient. Whilst highly valuable for the detection of primary tumors, CT and MRI remain limited for the characterization of LNs. B-mode ultrasound (US) and contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) can improve the detection of LNs and could provide critical complementary information to MRI and CT scans; however, the European Federation of Societies for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology (EFSUMB) guidelines advise that further evidence is required before US or CEUS can be recommended for clinical use. Moreover, knowledge of the lymphatic system and LNs is relatively limited, especially in preclinical models. In this pilot study, we have created a mouse model of metastatic cancer and utilized 3D high-frequency ultrasound to assess the volume, shape, and absence of hilum, along with CEUS to assess the flow dynamics of tumor-free and tumor-bearing LNs in vivo. The aforementioned parameters were used to create a scoring system to predict the likelihood of a disease-involved LN before establishing post-mortem diagnosis with histopathology. Preliminary results suggest that a sum score of parameters may provide a more accurate diagnosis than the LN size, the single parameter currently used to predict the involvement of an LN in disease. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ultrasound-Based Treatments of Cancer)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

13 pages, 935 KiB  
Article
A Few-Shot Learning Approach Assists in the Prognosis Prediction of Magnetic Resonance-Guided Focused Ultrasound for the Local Control of Bone Metastatic Lesions
by Fang-Chi Hsu, Hsin-Lun Lee, Yin-Ju Chen, Yao-An Shen, Yi-Chieh Tsai, Meng-Huang Wu, Chia-Chun Kuo, Long-Sheng Lu, Shauh-Der Yeh, Wen-Sheng Huang, Chia-Ning Shen and Jeng-Fong Chiou
Cancers 2022, 14(2), 445; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers14020445 - 17 Jan 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2726
Abstract
Magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound surgery (MRgFUS) constitutes a noninvasive treatment strategy to ablate deep-seated bone metastases. However, limited evidence suggests that, although cytokines are influenced by thermal necrosis, there is still no cytokine threshold for clinical responses. A prediction model to approximate the [...] Read more.
Magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound surgery (MRgFUS) constitutes a noninvasive treatment strategy to ablate deep-seated bone metastases. However, limited evidence suggests that, although cytokines are influenced by thermal necrosis, there is still no cytokine threshold for clinical responses. A prediction model to approximate the postablation immune status on the basis of circulating cytokine activation is thus needed. IL-6 and IP-10, which are proinflammatory cytokines, decreased significantly during the acute phase. Wound-healing cytokines such as VEGF and PDGF increased after ablation, but the increase was not statistically significant. In this phase, IL-6, IL-13, IP-10, and eotaxin expression levels diminished the ongoing inflammatory progression in the treated sites. These cytokine changes also correlated with the response rate of primary tumor control after acute periods. The few-shot learning algorithm was applied to test the correlation between cytokine levels and local control (p = 0.036). The best-fitted model included IL-6, IL-13, IP-10, and eotaxin as cytokine parameters from the few-shot selection, and had an accuracy of 85.2%, sensitivity of 88.6%, and AUC of 0.95. The acceptable usage of this model may help predict the acute-phase prognosis of a patient with painful bone metastasis who underwent local MRgFUS. The application of machine learning in bone metastasis is equivalent or better than the current logistic regression. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ultrasound-Based Treatments of Cancer)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

15 pages, 4779 KiB  
Article
Intraoperative HIFU Ablation of the Pancreas Using a Toroidal Transducer in a Porcine Model. The First Step towards a Clinical Treatment of Locally Advanced Pancreatic Cancer
by Celia Cilleros, Aurélien Dupré, Yao Chen, Jeremy Vincenot, Michel Rivoire and David Melodelima
Cancers 2021, 13(24), 6381; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers13246381 - 20 Dec 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2296
Abstract
Apart from palliative chemotherapy, no other therapy has been proven effective for the treatment of locally advanced pancreatic tumors. In this study, an intraoperative high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) device was tested in vivo to demonstrate the feasibility of treating the pancreatic parenchyma and [...] Read more.
Apart from palliative chemotherapy, no other therapy has been proven effective for the treatment of locally advanced pancreatic tumors. In this study, an intraoperative high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) device was tested in vivo to demonstrate the feasibility of treating the pancreatic parenchyma and tissues surrounding the superior mesenteric vessels prior to clinical translation of this technique. Twenty pigs were included and treated using a HIFU device equipped with a toroidal transducer and an integrated ultrasound imaging probe. Treatments were performed with energy escalation (from 30 kJ to 52 kJ). All treatments resulted in visible (macroscopically and in ultrasound images) homogeneous thermal damage, which was confirmed by histology. The dimensions of thermal lesions measured in ultrasound images and those measured macroscopically were correlated (r = 0.82, p < 0.05). No arterial spasms or occlusion were observed at the lowest energy setting. Temporary spasm of the peripancreatic artery was observed when using an energy setting greater than 30 kJ. The possibility of treating the pancreas and tissues around mesenteric vessels without vascular thrombosis holds great promise for the treatment of locally advanced pancreatic cancers. If clinically successful, chemotherapy followed by HIFU treatment could rapidly become a novel treatment option for locally advanced pancreatic cancer. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ultrasound-Based Treatments of Cancer)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

34 pages, 2272 KiB  
Review
High Intensity Focused Ultrasound for Treatment of Bone Malignancies—20 Years of History
by Sin Yuin Yeo, Grischa Bratke and Holger Grüll
Cancers 2023, 15(1), 108; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers15010108 - 24 Dec 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2070
Abstract
High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) is the only non-invasive method for percutaneous thermal ablation of tissue, with treatments typically performed either under magnetic resonance imaging or ultrasound guidance. Since this method allows efficient heating of bony structures, it has found not only early [...] Read more.
High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) is the only non-invasive method for percutaneous thermal ablation of tissue, with treatments typically performed either under magnetic resonance imaging or ultrasound guidance. Since this method allows efficient heating of bony structures, it has found not only early use in treatment of bone pain, but also in local treatment of malignant bone tumors. This review of 20 years of published studies shows that HIFU is a very efficient method for rapid pain relief, can provide local tumor control and has a very patient-friendly safety profile. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ultrasound-Based Treatments of Cancer)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

18 pages, 588 KiB  
Review
Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: Current and Emerging Therapeutic Uses of Focused Ultrasound
by Maxime Lafond, Thomas Lambin, Robert Andrew Drainville, Aurélien Dupré, Mathieu Pioche, David Melodelima and Cyril Lafon
Cancers 2022, 14(11), 2577; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers14112577 - 24 May 2022
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2515
Abstract
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) diagnosis accompanies a somber prognosis for the patient, with dismal survival odds: 5% at 5 years. Despite extensive research, PDAC is expected to become the second leading cause of mortality by cancer by 2030. Ultrasound (US) has been used [...] Read more.
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) diagnosis accompanies a somber prognosis for the patient, with dismal survival odds: 5% at 5 years. Despite extensive research, PDAC is expected to become the second leading cause of mortality by cancer by 2030. Ultrasound (US) has been used successfully in treating other types of cancer and evidence is flourishing that it could benefit PDAC patients. High-intensity focused US (HIFU) is currently used for pain management in palliative care. In addition, clinical work is being performed to use US to downstage borderline resectable tumors and increase the proportion of patients eligible for surgical ablation. Focused US (FUS) can also induce mechanical effects, which may elicit an anti-tumor response through disruption of the stroma and can be used for targeted drug delivery. More recently, sonodynamic therapy (akin to photodynamic therapy) and immunomodulation have brought new perspectives in treating PDAC. The aim of this review is to summarize the current state of those techniques and share our opinion on their future and challenges. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ultrasound-Based Treatments of Cancer)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

20 pages, 385 KiB  
Review
Applications of Focused Ultrasound in the Treatment of Genitourinary Cancers
by John Panzone, Timothy Byler, Gennady Bratslavsky and Hanan Goldberg
Cancers 2022, 14(6), 1536; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers14061536 - 17 Mar 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2416
Abstract
Traditional cancer treatments have been associated with substantial morbidity for patients. Focused ultrasound offers a novel modality for the treatment of various forms of cancer which may offer effective oncological control and low morbidity. We performed a review of PubMed articles assessing the [...] Read more.
Traditional cancer treatments have been associated with substantial morbidity for patients. Focused ultrasound offers a novel modality for the treatment of various forms of cancer which may offer effective oncological control and low morbidity. We performed a review of PubMed articles assessing the current applications of focused ultrasound in the treatment of genitourinary cancers, including prostate, kidney, bladder, penile, and testicular cancer. Current research indicates that high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) focal therapy offers effective short-term oncologic control of localized prostate and kidney cancer with lower associated morbidity than radical surgery. In addition, studies in mice have demonstrated that focused ultrasound treatment increases the accuracy of chemotherapeutic drug delivery, the efficacy of drug uptake, and cytotoxic effects within targeted cancer cells. Ultrasound-based therapy shows promise for the treatment of genitourinary cancers. Further research should continue to investigate focused ultrasound as an alternative cancer treatment option or as a complement to increase the efficacy of conventional treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ultrasound-Based Treatments of Cancer)
25 pages, 1095 KiB  
Review
Latest Advances in the Use of Therapeutic Focused Ultrasound in the Treatment of Pancreatic Cancer
by Petros X. E. Mouratidis and Gail ter Haar
Cancers 2022, 14(3), 638; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers14030638 - 27 Jan 2022
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 4566
Abstract
Traditional oncological interventions have failed to improve survival for pancreatic cancer patients significantly. Novel treatment modalities able to release cancer-specific antigens, render immunologically “cold” pancreatic tumours “hot” and disrupt or reprogram the pancreatic tumour microenvironment are thus urgently needed. Therapeutic focused ultrasound exerts [...] Read more.
Traditional oncological interventions have failed to improve survival for pancreatic cancer patients significantly. Novel treatment modalities able to release cancer-specific antigens, render immunologically “cold” pancreatic tumours “hot” and disrupt or reprogram the pancreatic tumour microenvironment are thus urgently needed. Therapeutic focused ultrasound exerts thermal and mechanical effects on tissue, killing cancer cells and inducing an anti-cancer immune response. The most important advances in therapeutic focused ultrasound use for initiation and augmentation of the cancer immunity cycle against pancreatic cancer are described. We provide a comprehensive review of the use of therapeutic focused ultrasound for the treatment of pancreatic cancer patients and describe recent studies that have shown an ultrasound-induced anti-cancer immune response in several tumour models. Published studies that have investigated the immunological effects of therapeutic focused ultrasound in pancreatic cancer are described. This article shows that therapeutic focused ultrasound has been deemed to be a safe technique for treating pancreatic cancer patients, providing pain relief and improving survival rates in pancreatic cancer patients. Promotion of an immune response in the clinic and sensitisation of tumours to the effects of immunotherapy in preclinical models of pancreatic cancer is shown, making it a promising candidate for use in the clinic. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ultrasound-Based Treatments of Cancer)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

12 pages, 448 KiB  
Review
Current Landscape of Sonodynamic Therapy for Treating Cancer
by Toshihiro Yamaguchi, Shuji Kitahara, Kaori Kusuda, Jun Okamoto, Yuki Horise, Ken Masamune and Yoshihiro Muragaki
Cancers 2021, 13(24), 6184; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers13246184 - 08 Dec 2021
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 4147
Abstract
Recent advancements have tangibly changed the cancer treatment landscape. However, curative therapy for this dreadful disease remains an unmet need. Sonodynamic therapy (SDT) is a minimally invasive anti-cancer therapy involving a chemical sonosensitizer and focused ultrasound. A high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) beam is [...] Read more.
Recent advancements have tangibly changed the cancer treatment landscape. However, curative therapy for this dreadful disease remains an unmet need. Sonodynamic therapy (SDT) is a minimally invasive anti-cancer therapy involving a chemical sonosensitizer and focused ultrasound. A high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) beam is used to destroy or denature targeted cancer tissues. Some SDTs are based on unfocused ultrasound (US). In some SDTs, HIFU is combined with a drug, known as a chemical sonosensitizer, to amplify the drug’s ability to damage cancer cells preferentially. The mechanism by which US interferes with cancer cell function is further amplified by applying acoustic sensitizers. Combining multiple chemical sonosensitizers with US creates a substantial synergistic effect that could effectively disrupt tumorigenic growth, induce cell death, and elicit an immune response. Therefore, the minimally invasive SDT treatment is currently attracting attention. It can be combined with targeted therapy (double-targeting cancer therapy) and immunotherapy in the future and is expected to be a boon for treating previously incurable cancers. In this paper, we will consider the current state of this therapy and discuss parts of our research. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ultrasound-Based Treatments of Cancer)
9 pages, 240 KiB  
Review
A Review of High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound in Urology
by David Cranston, Tom Leslie and Gail ter Haar
Cancers 2021, 13(22), 5696; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers13225696 - 14 Nov 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2394
Abstract
This review provides an introduction to high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) and reviews its historical and current use in urological surgery. Current and historical literature (1927–2020), including that describing trials and review articles in the medical and ultrasonic literature, has been reviewed, using Pub [...] Read more.
This review provides an introduction to high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) and reviews its historical and current use in urological surgery. Current and historical literature (1927–2020), including that describing trials and review articles in the medical and ultrasonic literature, has been reviewed, using Pub Med and Cochrane search engines. HIFU is currently one of a number of treatments for prostate cancer, both as a primary treatment that can be repeated, and as a salvage treatment post-radiotherapy. HIFU is not yet sufficiently mature to be a standard treatment for renal cancer or other urological diseases, although there has been some success in early clinical trials. As the technology improves, this situation is likely to change. HIFU has been understood as a concept for a century, and has been applied in experimental use for half that time. It is now an accepted treatment with low morbidity in many diseases outside the scope of this review. In urological surgery, prostate HIFU is accepted as a localised treatment in selected cases, with potentially fewer side effects than other localised therapies. Currently the treatment for renal cancer is hindered by the perinephric fat and the position of the kidneys behind the ribs; however, as the technology improves with image fusion, faster treatments, and the ability with phased array transducers and motion compensation to overcome the problems caused by the ribs and breathing, successful treatment of kidney tumours will become more of a reality. In due course, there will be a new generation of machines for treating prostate cancer. These devices will further minimise the side effects of radical treatment of prostate cancer. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ultrasound-Based Treatments of Cancer)
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-10
Back to TopTop