Abstract
Pancreatic cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer deaths, and many patients,
with advanced disease, suffer from severe pain that can heavily affect their quality
of life. In patients with advanced disease, an eminent role is played by percutaneous
techniques, which cause tumor necrosis with a minimally invasive approach. High-intensity
focused ultrasound (HIFU) is a relatively recent noninvasive technique that allows
ablation of different solid tumors including uterine fibroids, and hepatic, renal,
and pancreatic tumors. HIFU technology is based on external emission of an ultrasound
beam, which has larger amplitudes than the regular diagnostic probes, focused on a
precise target, allowing mechanical energy transfer through the tissues and tumor
ablation due to thermal and nonthermal effects. Multiple clinical trials have been
performed to evaluate the safety, feasibility, and efficacy of HIFU for the palliation
of pancreatic tumors, alone or in combination with chemotherapy. Tumor-related pain
relief was achieved in the vast majority of reported cases, and no significant side
effects were recorded. This review aims to provide a description of HIFU physical
principles, briefly summarize the clinical experience, to date, in HIFU treatment
of pancreatic cancer, and discuss the possible future challenges, limitations, and
insights in HIFU and pancreatic cancer management.
Keywords
high-intensity focused ultrasound - pancreatic cancer - tumor ablation - pain relief
- intervention
