Meeting Report: Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology Society of Europe (CIRSE) 2021 Summit

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The Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology Society of Europe (CIRSE) 2021 Summit was held virtually September 25-28, 2021.

“CIRSE is an interesting meeting for learning about all types of image-guided, minimally invasive medical procedures, including focused ultrasound,” said Thomas Andreae, the Foundation’s Europe Ambassador, who attended the summit. “Several presentations were of interest to the community.” The focused ultrasound presentations from CIRSE are outlined below.

Session: HIFU and FUS: Current and Future Perspectives

  • Ultrasound or MRI Guidance: Pros and Cons by Franco Orsi (European Institute of Oncology, Milan, Italy). Dr. Orsi is enthusiastic about ultrasound guidance, especially with the recent development of more mobile and compact ultrasound systems.
  • HIFU and FUS for Prostate Cancer by Alice Schroeder (University of Strasbourg, France). She noted several areas that require further clarification, including patient selection criteria, treatment success, refractory cancers, and salvage treatment after focused ultrasound.
  • HIFU and FUS Gynecological Lesion by Kimberley Anneveldt (Isala Zwolle, the Netherlands).
  • HIFU for Musculoskeletal Lesions by Alessandro Napoli (Sapienza University of Rome, Italy)

Session: Upcoming Clinical Trials
Two RCTs – randomized controlled trials – are underway in the Netherlands:

  • Effectiveness of focal transurethral ultrasound ablation (TULSA) therapy in men with prostate cancer (ENFORCE) is studying the cost effectiveness of MRI-controlled focal TULSA versus radical prostatectomy or radiotherapy in patients with unilateral, clinically localized, intermediate-risk cancer. This study will include 356 patients in three centers and randomly assign them to either TULSA (n=178) or standard of care (radical prostatectomy or radiotherapy, n=178) and evaluate oncological effectiveness, quality of life, safety, and cost effectiveness at 12 months.
  • The MYCHOICE study is enrolling 340 participants with symptomatic uterine fibroids in a 2:1 ratio for either focused ultrasound (n=160) or standard of care – hysterectomy or myomectomy – (n=80) to evaluate treatment outcome along with quality of life and costs after 24 months.

Session: Free Presentations

  • Clinical and procedural comparative evaluation of MRgFUS VIM ablation in essential tremor and Parkinson’s disease (PD) by Leonardo Pertici (University of L’Aquilia, Italy). This group concluded that focused ultrasound was an effective treatment for both conditions, but the durability was less in the patients with PD. The safety profile was also comparable between the patient populations.
  • Magnetic resonance—guided focused ultrasound surgery versus external beam radiation therapy for the treatment of painful bone metastases: A phase II trial presented by Giulia Alfieri (Sapienza University of Rome, Italy). This comparative study evaluated the overall response rates at one and 12 months, which overwhelmingly favored focused ultrasound.