Focused Ultrasound may Help Reduce the Pain of Cancer

Cancer can be particularly excruciating when it spreads to the bone. Yet a new phase III clinical trial shows that a focused ultrasound with non-invasive magnetic resonance could provide some relief.

Magnetic resonance guided focused ultrasound surgery (MRgFUS) has been used to safely treat thousands of women with uterine fibroids. However, "this is the first phase III study to use this technology in the treatment of cancer, " said the study's principal investigator and lead author Mark Hurwitz, M.D., Vice Chairman of Quality, Safety and Performance Excellence and Director of Thermal Oncology in the department of Radiation Oncology at Thomas Jefferson University, via a press release. 

Though radiation may be commonly used to treat bone-related pain in patients, not all benefit from the process. In addition, it's also possible for a patient to receive the maximum radiation dose without effectively managing the pain. In these situations, alternative treatments may be required.

For the study, researchers examined a total of 147 patients from 17 centers in the United States, Canada, Israel, Italy and Russia. The participants were randomly assigned to undergo MRgFUS or a placebo treatment. Patients who received the treatment had the tumor tissue heated between 65 and 85 degrees Celsius, resulting in its destruction. Throughout this time, they were monitored via real-time magnetic resonance to ensure that the right tissue was targeted and the right temperatures were reached while ensuring heat in surrounding normal tissues and organs remained safe. The control group underwent the same procedure, but with the ultrasound device turned on. And those who did not respond to the placebo treatment were allowed two weeks later to have the MRgFUS.

Sixty-four percent of the patients responded well to the treatment, either with no pain or a significant reduction in pain at three months.

"It's clear that for many of these patients, pain has a major impact on their everyday lives," Hurwitz added, via the release. "This approach offers a new way to help alleviate that pain via an out-patient non-invasive procedure."

Researchers believe that the next steps will be to study the combination of radiation and thermal therapy in treatment together.

More information regarding the findings can be seen via the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI).