Comment by elric
1 day ago
If I interpret the article correctly, the ultrasound energy does two things: it effectively destroys the cancer cells by overheating them, and it physically breaks apart the tumour. Your immune system can further break up and get rid of dead cells the way it deals with normal dead cells.
Won't there still be some broken up live cells that can now migrate around the body and cause cancer in other areas?
This was an issue with uterine morcellation; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morcellator. Per the article, though:
> Some researchers have raised concerns about histotripsy potentially seeding new cancer growths as tumours are broken up inside the body, meaning they can be transported to other areas. That fear, however, hasn't borne out in animal studies so far.
Yeah I wondered about that myself. And I wonder if radiation therapy might not have the same potential issue? But maybe there's something in the way they perform the treatment to reduce the risk of that happening? Not sure.