New Focused Ultrasound Parameters for Releasing Chemotherapy to Tumors

Published:

Research Roundup 2019 smNovel Fractionated Ultrashort Thermal Exposures with MRI-guided Focused Ultrasound for Treating Tumors with Thermosensitive Drugs

Kullervo Hynynen, MSc, PhD, and his team at Sunnybrook Research Institute and the University of Toronto recently sought to solve an exposure time problem when using focused ultrasound to release chemotherapy drugs from temperature-sensitive liposomes. In the past, the focused ultrasound exposures lasted up to an hour, making the hyperthermia approach ineffective for many types of tumors. Now, the team has developed a new approach using fractionated, ultrashort thermal exposures to release doxorubicin from the liposomes. After testing it in two models, the group hypothesized that the technique could improve the delivery of chemotherapy to solid tumors while minimizing drug side effects. What are the parameters and what happened with tumor growth and survival?

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