Study Evaluates MR-Guided, Focused Ultrasound as Adjuvant Therapy to Radiation

Hypoxic tumor cells usually resist radiation and chemotherapy, making them a key challenge in treating cancer. A US researcher believes that magnetic resonance (MR)-guided, focused ultrasound could reduce this problem, benefiting patients with malignant solid tumors in areas such as the liver, prostate, and breast.

Researcher Xin Chen, PhD, an assistant professor in the department radiation oncology at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (Little Rock, USA), has received a US$100,000 Research Award from the Focused Ultrasound Surgery Foundation. He is exploring the feasibility of a new approach that will detect the hypoxic areas in tumors and use MR-guided focused ultrasound to ablate them selectively prior to regular radiation therapy.

To evaluate the method, Dr. Chen and his colleagues will conduct preclinical studies using a mouse tumor model and positron emission tomography (PET)/MRI guidance. “Due to the advanced development in the MR-guided FUS [focused ultrasound] system, PET imaging, and the image-processing algorithm, there are no technical difficulties to translate this method to clinical practices,” Dr. Chen said.

If the approach proves effective, Dr. Chen believes it could convince more physicians to use noninvasive focused ultrasound as an adjuvant therapy. “The translation of FUS to tumor treatment has been hampered by its long treatment time,” he noted.

Because the new method involves significantly shortened treatments, Dr. Chen believes it could facilitate the use of FUS therapies in a wider range of tumors.

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University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences