The University of Michigan published an interesting article about how ultrasound technology could become a good non-invasive treatment that destroys cancerous tumors with “millimeter precision.” That is better than the prospect of having the surgical alternative.
This kind of technology is called histotripsy and consists of sending targeted short acoustic energy bursts that will cause stress and damage to the tumor cells.
However, because it’s non-invasive, targeting specific areas might be challenging depending on their location and the nature of the surrounding tissue. That’s why they need to study the outcomes based on partial tumor removals.
Most of the data in the article comes from successful experiments on rats that have liver tumors. Scientists say that even partial destruction of the tumor (50-70%) could stop the diseases’ progression, and in some cases, the immune system can clear the remaining tumor after that. This is big news for those with cancer.
There’s a human liver cancer trial in the USA and Europe happening right now that will hopefully prove successful.
Right now, liver cancer seems to be the focus of the ongoing research, and it ranks among the more common and severe forms of cancer that people face worldwide. Hopefully, we will hear more good results.
Source and Image Credit Ubergizmo