Histotripsy uses high intensity ultrasound to break down targeted tumours and induce immune cell infiltration. Liver cancer and breast cancer are clinical trial targets.
Histotripsy is a non-invasive cancer therapy using high intensity ultrasound waves to create micro-bubble clouds within the targeted tissue. These micro-bubbles cause the tumour tissue to mechanically collapse and disintegrate. Because it does not involve incisions, recovery time is much shorter.
This single-session treatment can take as little as 30 minutes, causes limited or no pain, and allows for quick recovery, enabling patients to be treated as outpatients. This would potentially replace invasive treatments such as radiotherapy, ablation and even surgery.
Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge has become the first centre in the UK and Europe to offer histotripsy treatment (1). Importantly, in the UK it will be available on the NHS.
The treatment is delivered using the Edison Histotripsy System, manufactured by US-based HistoSonics; and made possible through a £2.1 million donation from the Li Ka Shing Foundation, a longstanding supporter of cancer research at the University of Cambridge.
At the Chinese University in Hong Kong researchers are studying the treatment with Liver cancer and early stage breast cancer (2).
Initially in the UK, the treatment will focus on patients with primary and secondary liver tumours, particularly those for whom traditional surgery or ablation is considered too risky or unsuitable. Research is also exploring its potential for treating other hard-to-reach tumours.
The treatment has already been used in over 1,500 patients worldwide, primarily in the United States, where it received FDA approval in late 2023. For example, Johns Hopkins Medicine was one of the first US centres to use Histotripsy (2) and has used the procedure to treat liver tumors, cancerous and benign, primary or secondary. The treatment is delivered without needing to cut into the body.
Histotripsy has shown a high success rate in clinical trials, particularly for treating liver tumors. Recent studies have reported a success rate of around 85-95%. At Johns Hopkins Medicine they state that “candidates for histotripsy are typically patients for whom traditional surgical methods, chemotherapy or radiation pose unacceptably increased risks or have been ineffective.
Patients with liver tumors that meet the following may be candidates:
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The tumor is less than 4 centimeters in size
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Have three or fewer tumors
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The tumor is in a favorable location for treatment”
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Go To: High Intensity Focussed Ultrasound for Prostate Cancer
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References
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Liver Cancer UK - new treatment for Liver cancer coming to the UK
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Histotripsy 2.0 available for liver and breast cancer clinical trials in HK - MIMS News
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Johns Hopkins Medicine - Histotripsy for liver tumours