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Image-Guided High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound in the Treatment of Cancer

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Image-Guided Cancer Therapy

Abstract

High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is a noninvasive technique delivering acoustic energy for localized thermal ablation of tumors. The targeted volume reaches temperatures above 70 °C within a fraction of a second resulting in coagulative necrosis and ablation of the target and minimal side effects to nontargeted tissues. Available systems use either ultrasound or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to define the target and guide the treatment. MR-guided HIFU has the additional advantage of real-time thermometry which allows measurement and adjustment of the deposited energy during therapy. Several HIFU devices are commercially available, and the clinical use of HIFU is approved in many countries for the treatment of benign uterine fibroids and for the treatment of adenomyosis and painful bone metastases. Clinical studies are investigating the use of MR-guided HIFU for the treatment of painful bone metastases, primary breast cancer, and primary prostate cancer. Ultrasound-guided transrectal HIFU devices are in use in several countries to treat benign prostatic hypertrophy as well as primary and locally recurrent prostate cancer. The use of HIFU in cancer treatment is expanding due to advances in technology and accumulating clinical experience. In this chapter, we will review the technology and clinical experience of HIFU in cancer treatment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Oncology Institute, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Ramat Gan, 52621, Israel

    M. Raphael Pfeffer, Tatiana Rabin & Raphael Catane

  2. Imaging Institute, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Ramat Gan, 52621, Israel

    Yael Inbar

  3. Insightec Ltd., 5 Nahum Heth Street, Tirat Carmel, Haifa, 39120, Israel

    Arik Hananel

Authors
  1. M. Raphael Pfeffer
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  2. Tatiana Rabin
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  3. Yael Inbar
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  4. Arik Hananel
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  5. Raphael Catane
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to M. Raphael Pfeffer .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Department of Diagnostic Imaging Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, Rhode Island, USA

    Damian E. Dupuy

  2. Department of Surgery and Radiology Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York, USA

    Yuman Fong

  3. McMullen Consulting, LLC, Surprise, Arizona, USA

    William N. McMullen

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Pfeffer, M.R., Rabin, T., Inbar, Y., Hananel, A., Catane, R. (2013). Image-Guided High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound in the Treatment of Cancer. In: Dupuy, D., Fong, Y., McMullen, W. (eds) Image-Guided Cancer Therapy. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0751-6_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0751-6_7

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