<p>HIFU is safe, effective, and feasible in pancreatic cancer patients: a monocentric retrospective study among 523 patients</p>

Abstract

PurposeThis study aimed to evaluate the clinical value of high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) combined with gemcitabine (GEM) in treating unresectable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).Patients and methodsA total of 523 unresectable PDAC patients were recruited from December 30, 2007 to January 30, 2015 at Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center. Among them, 347 received HIFU combined with GEM (with regional intra-arterial chemotherapy [RIAC] or with systemic chemotherapy) and the remaining patients received GEM only. Postoperative complications were observed, and overall survival was recorded.ResultsThe median overall survival of patients who received HIFU combined with GEM vs GEM alone was 7.4 vs 6.0 months (P=0.002); the 6-month, 10-month, 1-year, and 2-year survival rates for patients in these two groups were 66.3% vs 47.5% (P<0.0001), 31.12% vs 15.9% (P<0.0001), 21.32% vs 13.64% (P=0.033), and 2.89% vs 2.27% (P=0.78), respectively. In the combined therapy group, the most obvious survival benefits were obtained among patients who received HIFU plus RIAC and systemic chemotherapy (used in the intervals between RIAC treatments). There were no severe complications in patients undergoing HIFU treatment.ConclusionWe demonstrated the survival benefit of HIFU among PDAC patients treated with GEM. The benefit was most obvious in PDAC patients treated with HIFU plus RIAC and systemic chemotherapy.

In Vivo Flow Cytometric Evaluation of Circulating Metastatic Pancreatic Tumor Cells after High‐Intensity Focused Ultrasound Therapy

“…In addition, HIFU ablation effectively suppressed local tumor growth. These conclusions were also confirmed by recent clinical reports showing that HIFU caused significant early and long-lasting pain relief and reduction in tumor size in patients with advanced PDAC (30,31). A possible reason for this observation is HIFUinduced enhancement of cancer-specific immunity after treatment.…”

<p>A Retrospective Case Series Of High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) In Combination With Gemcitabine And Oxaliplatin (Gemox) On Treating Elderly Middle And Advanced Pancreatic Cancer</p>

“…A monocentric retrospective study by Ning et al had evaluated the safety and effectiveness of HIFU combined with gemcitabine (GEM) in 347 pancreatic cancer patients. The median OS was reported to be 7.4 months, with 6-month and 1-year survival rate of 66.3% and 21.32% 47. As a comparison, the median OS and PFS in present analysis were observed to be 12.5 months and 6.7 months, which seems to be better than prior evidence.…”

Nano-Enhanced Drug Delivery and Therapeutic Ultrasound for Cancer Treatment and Beyond

“…Hyperthermia involves heating of tissues up to 40°C, whereas HIFU irradiation induces rapid heating of targeted tissue to temperatures >60°C leading to coagulative necrosis (Chu and Dupuy, 2014). For example, HIFU effectively ablates pancreatic tumors by localized heating of tissues to temperatures as high as 65°C, therefore abolishing the tumor cells completely (Ning et al, 2019). Depending on the intensity, focused ultrasound can be classified into two types: low intensity focused ultrasound (up to 3 W/cm 2 ) (LIFU) and high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) (over 5 W/cm 2 ).…”

“…In China and Korea, HIFU has been extensively utilized for the treatment of cancer and other conditions since the 1990s. More recently, National Institutes of Health (NIH) (2013) recommends HIFU as an auxiliary therapy for unresectable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) (Ning et al, 2019). There has been substantial successes with the application of HIFU for non-invasive “surgery” that allows precise ablation of solid tumors, such as breast cancer, prostate cancer, hepatocellular and pancreatic carcinoma, uterine fibroids and bone malignancies (Wu, 2006).…”