High intensity focused ultrasound treatment for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer: A preliminary dosimetric analysis

Abstract

Objective: To analyse the clinical dosimetry of high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) for the treatment of inoperable pancreatic cancer in humans.

Methods: 136 patients with advanced pancreatic cancer were treated with HIFU, including 89 male and 47 female patients. The median targeted volume (V_t) was 31.1 cm³ (range: 9.8–102.1). The median of the average ultrasound power (P_avg) was 225 W (range: 117–399), and the median energy of the ultrasound (E_total) was 278.3 kJ (range: 70.5–1195.2). Spearman rank correlation analysis for HIFU dosimetric analysis was conducted.

Results: There was a significant correlation between greyscale changes after HIFU ablation and HIFU dose intensity (DI), P_avg, and unit time (T_u). However, no correlation was found between greyscale changes after HIFU ablation and gender, age, pancreatic cancer position, or depth of tumour.

Conclusions: We preliminarily deem that dose intensity and sound power can act as good reference points for HIFU dosimetry in the treatment of pancreatic tumours using the Chongqing system. If there was no obvious change in the ultrasound-monitored image following HIFU treatment for pancreatic cancer, the P_avg and DI should be no less than 260 W and 11 kJ/cm³, respectively.

• high intensity focused ultrasound
• pancreatic neoplasm
• thermal ablation
• ultrasonic therapy
• thermal dosimetry