HKU to trial use of sound waves to treat cancer
The University of Hong Kong's faculty of medicine says it is planning the first clinical trials in Asia of a device designed to treat cancer with sound waves.  Twenty liver cancer patients will be given histotripsy treatment at Queen Mary Hospital from September, the faculty said on Tuesday.  “The histotripsy is basically a very high-focus ultrasound that basically induces a sudden expansion and collapse of the cancer cells… and that creates a shock wave and that basically would break down the cancer cells and we call it liquefying the cancer cells. That would completely kill the cancer cells,” said professor Albert Chan from the university. “And what is so different from the usual treatment is actually the minimally invasiveness. So without any scars, any wounds, we can now treat the patients... This is a non-radiation treatment, so we can actually apply it to a broad spectrum of patients.” Chan noted that liver cancer is the fifth most common cancer in Hong Kong, with about 1,700 to 1,800 new cases per year.  However, Mike Blue – a representative of the manufacturer of the machine involved – said the technology could be used to treat most cancers. “This particular system has been designed in the future to treat everywhere really from the neck down. So we envision years from now, histotripsy and this particular system will be used to treat thyroid, breast, sarcomas, liver, kidney, pancreas, really anywhere in the body,” the HistoSonics CEO said.  Blue added that the treatment is also effective on recurrent cancer patients, adding that it has already been used in the US on those with early and advanced stages of the disease.  He said that after the clinical trial on liver cancer at HKU is completed in about two years, the team plans to carry out clinical studies in the SAR for other types of cancer, including kidney and pancreatic cancer.