colinnew
- The technique, called histotripsy, generates exploding bubbles to kill tumors
- Minneapolis-based HistoSonics, founded in 2009, pioneered the treatment
- READ MORE: EXCLUSIVE – Tragic young victims of the colon cancer epidemic
A promising cancer treatment that blasts tumors using soundwaves has been approved in the US.
A machine that uses histotripsy, a technique that uses sound waves to break down tumors, has been approved to treat liver tumors by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
It uses targeted sound waves – like an ultrasound machine – to form microbubbles within the tumor.
The forces generated as the bubbles expand and collapse rapidly cause the cancerous mass to break apart, destroying tumor cells and leaving the debris to be eliminated by the immune system.
The approval of the treatment means patients may be able to get treatment for liver cancer without the side effects of radiation or chemotherapy.
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