Histotripsy

Histotripsy is a new noninvasive treatment for liver cancer that uses high-frequency ultrasound waves to selectively destroy liver tumors. The FDA-approved procedure creates small bubbles in diseased tissue that kill tumors.  

A machine aims high-intensity sound pulses at tumors, spawning little gas-filled bubbles inside the cancerous mass. The bubbles swell and bob similar to water when it boils, and this "bubble cloud" destroys the walls of cancer cells. The body naturally absorbs or flushes the debris left behind, and healthy liver tissue eventually replaces it.

The #HOPE4LIVER clinical trials tested histotripsy at 14 sites in Europe and the U.S., and the results led to FDA approval in 2023. It is used to treat primary or secondary liver cancer, particularly when surgery isn't an option. 

Some patients may have a reaction to the anesthesia, and some may experience bleeding or infection near the destroyed cells. But the procedure has a 95.5% success rate and offers several benefits: 

• It does not require incisions, radiation, needles or invasive procedures. 
• It causes little to no pain or side effects, such as the fatigue and nausea that accompany chemotherapy. 
• It targets cancer cells without affecting critical liver structures, such as bile ducts and blood vessels. 
• Most patients are able to return home on the same day they have the procedure. 
• It leaves no scars or burns.
• It doesn't hurt antigens, the proteins that help the immune system identify and fight cancer.