Cancer immunotherapy is considered one of the revolutionary ways through which a patient’s immune system fights cancer. But for many cancers like breast cancer or pancreatic cancer, this treatment falls short. Tumors of these types are often called “cold” tumors — the immune system doesn’t recognize them as a possible threat to the body.
Currently, researchers are experimenting with different methods through which these cancers can be “warmed up,” so that the immune system can recognize them as a threat.
What is Focused Ultrasound Treatment?
One such experiment is being conducted at the University of Virginia (UVA), where scientists are using focused ultrasound — concentrated sound energy that can make even small areas visible inside the human body. Unlike surgery or radiation, this treatment is noninvasive.
The best part about focused ultrasound is that it can break stubborn tumors into small debris that becomes visible to the immune system. After the tumor breaks into tiny particles, these travel to nearby lymph nodes, where immune cells identify and attack them.
After this breakthrough in treating previously unrecognizable tumors, UVA launched the world’s first Focused Ultrasound Immuno-Oncology Center in 2022. Researchers at UVA are conducting advanced experiments to develop treatments that can help patients with advanced melanoma.
What is Focused Ultrasound?
First explored in the 1980s, this technology was used to target tiny spots (the size of a grain of rice) using heat. However, early experiments had many shortcomings — for example, the skull absorbed the sound energy, making it difficult to treat brain disorders.
Keeping these challenges in mind, further experiments led to a breakthrough: by using large arrays of ultrasound along with probes, scientists were able to guide the sound waves precisely to the target, causing less or no harm to nearby tissues.
Currently, focused ultrasound is being clinically tested, and several trials are underway. One major success has been in treating essential tremor, a neurological condition that causes uncontrollable shaking.
To fight tumors that the immune system doesn’t identify, focused ultrasound has emerged as a savior. When solid tumors are broken into debris, the immune system recognizes them and performs a targeted attack. The combination of focused ultrasound and immunotherapy is creating a new frontier in cancer treatment.
As researchers continue refining the science, one thing is clear — the future of cancer treatment lies not just in radiation beams, but in the power of sound.
