• Question: What are the limitations of the current HIFU process used in cancer treatments? and how does the new propreity HIFU system (labelled Acublate) address these limitations?

    Asked by mulvj004 to Wei on 15 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Wei Xun

      Wei Xun answered on 15 Jun 2011:

      Hi mulvj004:

      Before your question, I have never heard of the HIFU, I take it that you mean High-intensity focused ultrasound?

      The National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence is a governmental body which decides which drug/treatments work well enough to be allowed to use in the NHS system according to how much benefits the treatments bring against how much they cost.

      They have issued a guideline for HIFU to be used in prostate cancer. You can find the overview here:http://www.nice.org.uk/nicemedia/live/11128/31188/31188.pdf

      In there it says that HIFU is quite effective at treating prostate cancer, and the advantage is that it’s not toxic so can be repeated if more courses are needed, and at the same time, chemotherapy can also be used. But if the cancer has gone too far and has spread, then HIFU can not be used. It also has potential side effects.

      If this is an important questions, you will get a much better answer from an oncologist. Is there anyone in the iamascientist-house??

Comments