Purpose: To obtain the treatment parameters of internally cooled microwave antenna and to evaluate the feasibility of ultrasound-guided percutaneous microwave ablation (MWA) for benign thyroid nodules. Materials and methods: MWAs were performed by microwave antenna (16G) in ex vivo porcine liver. The lesion diameters achieved in different groups (20, 25, and 30 W for 3, 5, 7, 10, and 12 min) were compared. The clinical study was approved by the ethics committee. Written informed consent was obtained from all patients. MWA was performed in 11 patients (male to female ratioZ1:10; mean age, 50G7 years) with 11 benign thyroid nodules. Ultrasound scan, laboratory data, and clinical symptoms were evaluated before and 1 day and 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after the procedure. Results: In ex vivo study, the ablation lesion at 30 W 12 min tended to have appropriate scope and spherical shape. In clinical study, the follow-up periods ranged from 1 to 9 months. At the last followup, the largest diameter decreased from 2.9G1.0 (range, 1.6-4.1) to 1.9G0.7 (range, 0.4-3.0) cm (P!0.01), and the volume decreased from 5.30G4.88 (range, 0.89-14.81) to 2.40G2.06 (range, 0.02-6.35) ml (P!0.01). The volume reduction ratio was 45. 99G29.90 (range, 10.56-98.15) %. The cosmetic grading score was reduced from 3.20G0.79 to 2.30G0.95 (P!0.05). One patient experienced temporary nerve palsy and was recovered within 2 months after treatment. Conclusion: The internally cooled microwave antenna can yield ideal ablation lesions, and ultrasoundguided percutaneous MWA is a feasible technique for benign thyroid nodules.

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The cytotoxic reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by photoactivated sensitizers have been well explored in tumor therapy for nearly half a century, which is known as photodynamic therapy (PDT). The poor light penetration depth severely hinders PDT as a primary or adjuvant therapy for clinical indication. Whereas microwaves (MWs) are advantageous for deep penetration depth, the MW energy is considerably lower than that required for the activation of any species to induce ROS generation. Herein we find that liquid metal (LM) supernanoparticles activated by MW irradiation can generate ROS, such as •OH and •O 2 . On this basis, we design dual-functional supernanoparticles by loading LMs and an MW heating sensitizer ionic liquid (IL) into mesoporous ZrO 2 nanoparticles, which can be activated by MW as the sole energy source for dynamic and thermal therapy concomitantly. The microwave sensitizer opens the door to an entirely novel dynamic treatment for tumors.

Primary liver cancer and liver metastases are among the most frequent malignancies worldwide, with an increasing number of new cases and deaths every year. Traditional surgery is only suitable for a limited proportion of patients and imaging-guided percutaneous thermal ablation has achieved optimistic results for management of hepatic malignancy. This synopsis outlines the first clinical practice guidelines for ultrasound-guided percutaneous microwave ablation therapy for hepatic malignancy, which was created by a joint task force of the Society of Chinese Interventional Ultrasound. The guidelines aim at standardizing the microwave ablation procedure and therapeutic efficacy assessment, as well as proposing the criteria for the treatment candidates.

The nanoparticle not only formed a stable core–shell LM structure, but also maintained the ideal flexibility of the LM.

Microwave (MW) therapy, as a promising type of thermal therapy, has been attracting more and more attention from scientists. The combination of thermal and chemotherapy is of great significance in the latest studies of synergistic tumor therapy. However, the research on the MW therapy mechanism, especially the nonthermal effect applied in the combined cancer therapy, is not thorough enough. Pleasantly, we have discovered that nonthermal MW irradiation can promote the cellular uptake of nanoparticles and anticancer drugs via experiments in vitro and in vivo. Therefore, multifunctional nanoplatforms have been designed for enhanced tumor inhibition by loading ionic liquids (ILs), doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX), and phase change materials (PCMs) into ZrO hollow nanoparticles. PCMs act as MW switches. The as-made IL-DOX-PCM@ZrO nanoplatforms were injected into H22-tumor-bearing mice via the tail vein. Mild microwave irradiation (0.9 W, 450 MHz) was then applied. The thermal effect of MW could cause the temperature of the tumor site to rise (58 °C). On the other hand, it will trigger the MW switch to open and release DOX when the temperature is high enough. At the same time as drug release, a MW nonthermal effect could improve the cellular uptake of nanomaterials and anticancer drugs. The multisynergistic effect can promote the survival rate of the IL-DOX-PCM@ZrO+MW group to 100%. The results of the tumor therapy experiment in vivo demonstrated that as-made multifunctional IL-DOX-PCM@ZrO nanoplatforms could enhance the therapeutic outcome of combined thermal and chemotherapy under mild MW irradiation.