Histotripsy

An Exciting New Treatment for Cancer in the Liver

What Is Histotripsy?

Histotripsy stands at the forefront of innovation in cancer treatment as an FDA-approved and non-invasive approach to treating cancer in the liver for both primary liver cancer and other types of cancer that have spread to the liver.

The treatment uses an innovative device to precisely target and dissolve cancerous tissue using ultrasound waves. The ultrasound waves form microbubbles within the tumor, creating a force within the body as bubbles form and collapse. This force liquifies the tumor, killing the cancer cells. The treatment stimulates the patients’ immune system response, prompting immune cells to awaken and boost cell recovery. In this process, histotripsy can safely and effectively destroy cancer in the liver.

Histotripsy also has ultrasound imaging capabilities, which can be used to watch the patient's treatment as it happens. Doctors can watch ultrasound waves at work to see how tissues respond to therapy and adjust for better patient results.

Benefits of Histotripsy

Histotripsy offers many benefits for patients. Offering an additional treatment option to radiation, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy, histotripsy allows patients to avoid the physical toll and side effects often associated with these methods. Patients can also experience shorter recovery times and less discomfort.

In addition, histotripsy’s non-invasive approach means patients unable to tolerate more aggressive treatments have an effective alternative treatment option. After histotripsy treatment, most patients typically have no remaining viable tumor.

Histotripsy can precisely treat cancerous tissue, but it may not be suitable if tumors are near critical body structures. For this reason, histotripsy is less suitable as a treatment option for other forms of cancer such as breast, colorectal, pancreatic, lung, and others.

Who Is a Candidate for Histotripsy?

• Patients with primary liver cancer.

• Patients with other cancers that have spread to the liver.

• Patients who have not had surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, or immunotherapy.

• Patients whose disease has spread despite previous treatment.

• Patients who are not candidates for other treatment options.

What to Expect

• The histotripsy procedure is performed in an operating room (OR) at Cooper University Hospital in Camden, NJ.
• The patient will be placed under general anesthetic because the body must be kept still to reduce the possibility of damage to other parts of the body.
• Most patients only stay overnight for observation and there is no special inpatient care needed.