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News-Medical.Net

Single blast of ultrasound destroys cancer cells

Devices/Technology

Tuesday, 25-Oct-2005

Scientists at the University of Dundee have demonstrated that cancer cells can be targeted and destroyed by a single blast of ultrasound according to an article published in leading scientific journal "Nature-Physics".
Military technology has been used to develop and prove this ground breaking technique that will end the need for traumatic surgery and extensive drug therapy for cancer patients.

The treatment is not specific to one particular type of cancer and could subject to clinical trials be available to all cancer patients in as little as 5 years.

Previous research has shown that gas bubbles injected intravenously will naturally cluster around the cancerous cells. The team from Dundee have proved for the first time that when those bubbles are stimulated by a microsecond range burst of high intensity ultrasound energy, the gas bubbles can puncture the cancer cells and kill them. They were able to establish this process beyond doubt using an ultra-fast imaging system, photographing a million frames per second, and developed by the army specifically to observe the impact of ballistic shells and bullets with armour plates.

The research has been led by physicist Dr Paul Campbell at the University of Dundee, and Professor Sir Alfred Cuschieri at the Department of Surgery and Molecular Oncology at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee. Prof Cuschieri is a pioneering figure in the area of keyhole surgery and continues to develop routes to less invasive surgical procedures. Advanced optics involving lasers and holography to hold the gas bubbles close to the tissue plane using only the force of light itself were developed by Paul Prentice, a PhD student with Dr Campbell's group, in collaboration with Professor Kishan Dholakia at St Andrews University.

Commenting on the research, Dr Paul Campbell said: "Conventional cancer treatment usually requires surgery to cut out the diseased tissues, causing significant trauma, pain and discomfort to the patient, often delaying recovery for extended period of many months. This new ultrasound treatment can focus energy directly to a tumour site inside the body and deliver a single blast of energy, without harming any surrounding tissues."

The ultrasound treatment could eventually make systemic chemotherapy treatments a thing of the past. The gas bubbles injected into the cancer patient can be coated with anti-cancer drugs that then enter the punctured cancer cells. The drugs are therefore targeted to flood only the cancer cells in a one shot process, rather than repeatedly flooding the patient's entire body with the chemotherapy drugs. Such coated bubbles have already been developed in the United States. This should dramatically reduce the patient's recovery time and the associated pain and suffering of surgery and chemotherapy.

" It is a sniper treatment for cancer" said Dr Campbell. "The ultrasound activated bubbles target with single cell precision, so that the technique overall is a little like sniping at specific cancer cells, whilst ensuring that healthy tissues remain untouched."

"Our research has proved that the injected gas bubbles react to the ultrasound by instantaneously inflating just like a party balloon. Then they do something quite incredible. The shell of the inflated bubble deforms to develop a fast moving spike directed back into the nearby cancerous cell. When the spike hits the cell membrane it punches through it like a bullet, creating a tiny 'entrance wound' and allowing passage of molecules, which have included drugs, directly into those cells.

"For low ultrasound intensities, the membranes appear to be able to reseal themselves soon afterwards, effectively locking any drug molecules inside. On the other hand, for higher intensity levels of ultrasound, the damage may be so severe that the cancer cells can be killed outright."

The research, which represents the culmination of a three year project funded by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to the tune of over £630,000, has also involved direct collaboration with a world-leading molecular delivery group at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, USA.

"What we have achieved here is an important step forward in our understanding of the processes at large. In order to fully capitalise on this new knowledge however, it is critical that we achieve further funding to push the boundaries of this technology into fullscale clinical trials on humans.

"The benefits are clear: no incisions, no scars, no trauma and a much reduced chance of MRSA infection. This approach could represent the future of surgery and we certainly have the drive and indeed expertise to see this through given the opportunity."

Dr Campbell believes this is a win win situation for everyone concerned: "Not only will this benefit patient but the NHS as a whole by reducing the cost in the long term of treating cancer patients. Hospitals would be able to perform the treatment by undertaking minor modifications to their existing ultrasound equipment"

http://www.dundee.ac.uk/

Sniper Treatment Spells Significant breakthrough in approach to Cancer

[coconutt2000]

Now this is interesting.

[annie laurie]

Ping

[Kryptonite]

Let's hope it works!

[King Prout]

ping

[Fred Nerks]

New Ultrasound Treatment Targets Cancer
A new High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) treatment has been announced for the treatment of prostate cancer. The procedure uses ultrasound to destroy deep-seated tissue without affecting the surrounding healthy tissue.

The manufacturers of the system, UKHIFU, claim the time for patient recovery after HIFU treatment is significantly less than other therapies like radical prostatectomy. Recovery involves wearing a simple self managed catheter for a short period of time after treatment, and patients typically return to a normal lifestyle almost immediately after the 2 - 3 hour procedure. It is very much a same-day or out patient programme.

http://menshealth.about.com/od/prostatehealth/a/ultrasound_pros.htm

Australian public hospitals are already offering this treatment.

[Ditter]

This will be fantastic if it really works. I dread cancer, not because it might kill me but because of chemotherapy. After watching family and friends go through it I don't think I would survive it. My mother in laws cancer didn't kill her the second treatment of chemo did.

[agooga]

God bless the folks who must endure cancer and the doctors who create the cures. Let's hope this one works well.

[diamond6]

Thanks for posting this. I've had so much cancer in my family - stuff like this gets me so excited!!!

[Chena]

BUMP!

[Enterprise]

bump

[bjcintennessee]

Looks like great news. Just hope this isn't another one of those "breakthroughs" that is announced, then never heard about again.

[Jimbaugh]

WOW

[sweetliberty]

Well, what do you think about this? Sounds promising.

[nmh]

Oh, oh.

Imagine how many jobs that will wipe out and drug companies already opining about patients running out. Looks to easy and INEXPENSIVE. This will NOT go over well in the money hungry medical and pharmaceutical folks. They prefer the status quo and have patients trained on what to expect when this dreaded disease attacks them.

[ladtx]

Dr Campbell said, “Conventional cancer treatment usually requires surgery to cut out the diseased tissues, causing significant trauma, pain and discomfort to the patient, often delaying recovery for an extended period of many months.

Great news if it works out. Much better than the current protocols. Too late for me though. I just finished the surgery and radiation and start chemo Monday (I can hardly wait ;o)).

[S0122017]

Supposedly nostradamus predicted that cancer will be cured through the use of pure tones.

Is this going to be one more score for Nostradamus?

[SirLinksalot]

<<<
“It is a sniper treatment for cancer,”
>>>>

The question for cancer still remains --- How do you know that you've sniped every last one of the cancer cells using this technique ?

By analogy, if there are one million terrorists, and you kill 999,000 of them, does that mean you're safe ?

Sure, its better than chemo, where you kill ( to use their word -- snipe ) both the innocent together with the bad guys, but this isn't a cure.

Lets call it an improvement.

[numberonepal]

Neat stuff. Now if only UV and H₂O₂ therapy could make a few headlines. Prolly not since they actually work and don't put money in the drug companies pockets.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

Scientists at the University of Dundee have demonstrated that cancer cells can be targeted and destroyed by a single blast of ultrasound

I like the laser technique better.