Tumors partially destroyed with sound don't come back

The University of Michigan has developed sound technology that can break down tumors in rats, kill cancer cells, and prevent further spread of the disease.

The immune systems of the rats were able to clear away the rest of the tumors by destroying 50% to 75% of them.

Zhen Xu, professor of biomedical engineering at U-M and corresponding author of the study in Cancers, said that even if we don't target the entire tumor, we can still cause the tumor to regression and reduce the risk of future metastasis.

The treatment stimulated the immune responses of the rats and may have contributed to the regression of the untargeted portion of the cancer.

Histotripsy is a treatment that uses waves from theechocardiography to destroy target tissue. The technique is being used in a human cancer trial in the United States and Europe.

For reasons that include the size, location and stage of the cancer, the entire tumor cannot be targeted in a single treatment. This latest study only targeted a portion of the mass, leaving behind a viable intact tumor. It allowed the team, including researchers at Michigan Medicine and the Ann arbor VA Hospital, to show how effective the approach is under less optimal conditions.

Histotripsy is a promising option that can overcome the limitations of currently available options and provide a safe and effective method for removing tumors from the body.

The five-year survival rate for hepatocellular cancer is less than 18% in the U.S.

The use of sound waves for treatment has been pioneered by U-M engineers. The technique works without the harmful side effects of current approaches.

The U-M has designed and built a transducer that delivers high-amplitude micro-second-length ultrasound to focus on the tumor.

Microbubbles within the targeted tissues are created by the microsecond long pulse from UM's transducer. The mechanical stresses kill cancer cells and break up the tumor.

The clinical trial #HOPE4LIVER is sponsored by HistoSonics, a U-M spinoff company, and is based on the use of histotripsy in the fight against cancer. The group has produced promising results on histotripsy treatment of brain therapy.

The study was supported by grants from a number of organizations.

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