High-intensity focused ultrasonic ablation of sacral chordoma is feasible: a series of four cases and details of a national clinical trial

Abstract

High-intensity focused ultrasound describes the use of high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) to ablate tumours without requiring an incision or other invasive procedure. This technique has been trialled on a range of tumours including uterine fibroids, prostate, liver and renal cancer. We describe our experience of using HIFU to ablate sacral chordoma in four patients with advanced tumours. Patients were treated under general anaesthetic or sedation using an ultrasound-guided HIFU device. HIFU therapy was associated with a reduction in tumour volume over time in three patients for whom follow up scans were available. Tumour necrosis was reliably demonstrated in two of the three patients. We have established a national trial to assess if HIFU may improve long-term outcome from sacral chordoma, details are given.

Keywords:

• Sacral chordoma
• high-intensity focused ultrasound
• ablative therapy
• national clinical trial

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Val Berry, Sharon Cole and Julia Webb for administrative assistance with this work.

Disclosure statement

F. W. serves as the director of the clinical department at Chongqing Haifu (HIFU) Technology Co. Ltd, manufacturer of the JC200 and JC devices and as director of the Tumour Therapeutic Centre, Chongqing University of Medical Science. The remaining authors declare no potential conflicts of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This work was generously funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Oxford Biomedical Research Centre (OxBRC) (BRC Ref. A93111).