Credit: Marcin Szczepanski/Michigan Engineering
The idea of using ultrasound to non-invasively target cancer is an appealing one that is gaining real traction, on the back of studies demonstrating how it can more effectively deliver drugs, selectively take out cancer cells and heat and destroy diseased tissue. University of Michigan (UM) researchers have been exploring how it can combine with the body’s immune defenses to take out tumors through a one-two punch, with a new study on rodents returning some highly promising results.
The technique under development by the UM team involved using ultrasound waves delivered in microsecond-long pulses to targeted tissues. Called histotripsy, the treatment leads to the formation of tiny bubbles in the tissue, which quickly expand and collapse in a violent manner, with the resulting mechanical stress killing cancer cells and dismantling the tumor’s structure. The body is able to then harmlessly absorb the leftover debris.
This mirrors another technique we looked at from scientists in Israel in 2020, though in that method […]
This will be an interesting trend to follow, and see if the corporations controlling the illness/profit system allow it to succeed.
I believe that keeping our immune system working properly depends upon using the prebiotics and probiotics and enzymes which keep our digestive systems healthy are the best way to keep our immune systems working properly. If we do that, we may not need any help with getting rid of cancer.