Jason
Sheehan, M.D., Ph.D., a neurosurgeon from UVA Health, has paved the way in
focused ultrasound to treat glioblastoma, which is the most aggrieved and
deadliest brain tumor currently known.
The
University of Virginia School of Medicine, led by Dr. Sheehan, is pioneering a
technique that hits cancer cells with a drug, sensitizing them to sound waves,
then exposes them with focused ultrasound. The research is early, but tests on
cell samples in lab dishes look promising.
Researchers'
results suggest that the technique has "Substantial potential for
treatment of malignant brain tumors and other challenging oncology
indications…" Other areas in which the process could be performed are lung
and breast cancer, melanoma, and other cancers that typically are handled with
traditional radiation oncology treatment
options. The team predicts that the procedure will be especially useful in
treating cancers in sensitive areas of the body that pose a challenge to
access.
"Sonodynamic
therapy with focused ultrasound offers a new therapeutic approach to treating
patients with malignant brain tumors," said Dr. Sheehan. "This
approach combines two approved options, (the drug) 5-ALA and focused
ultrasound, to produce a powerful tumoricidal effect on several different types
of glioblastomas.'
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