Ultrasound devices may “burn away” cancer pain

A new clinical trial is testing whether focusing high-frequency sound waves onto the surface of bone where cancer has spread can “burn away” the source of pain.

Researchers at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust are testing whether ultrasound therapy can relieve pain in patients whose cancers have spread to the bone.

The first five patients have already been treated in the clinical trial, with encouraging reductions in the pain they were experiencing from bone tumours.

The technique, known as high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU), concentrates ultrasound energy precisely on a target in the body to thermally destroy tissue. The technology is coupled with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) guidance to identify, target and track treatment in real time. The treatment produces heat to destroy the nerve tissue in the bone around the tumour causing the pain, while leaving adjacent areas unharmed.

Philips is currently active in the field, having launched its MR-HIFU platform. A HIFU system buitl with the imaging capabilities of Philips MR systems, it has been designed an alternative treatment with less side effects than traditional options.

Royal Marsden patient Moira Rogers was the first patient to go on the clinical trial. She said: “Being on this trial has meant a great deal to me. It has helped get the pain I was in under control and given me my quality of life back. Trials like these are extremely important and I am so glad I have been given the opportunity by my doctors at The Royal Marsden to be part of this ground breaking study.”

Study co-leader Professor Gail ter Haar, Professor of Therapeutic Ultrasound at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, said: “Focused ultrasound is an exciting potential cancer treatment because of its ability to target tumours very precisely. The point onto which the ultrasound beam is focused gets very hot, but the surrounding tissue is left unharmed. It’s like using a magnifying glass in the sun to start a fire, where you need to form a sharp focal spot on the dry tinder.”