Health care
BY CHLOE YOUNG
Cancer patients in the Austin area can now access a new, noninvasive treatment for liver tumors. In November, St. David’s Medical Center in Austin became the rst hospital in Central Texas to begin providing histotripsy to treat liver tumors, according to St. David’s information. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the use of the new technology through HistoSonics’ Edison System in 2023. Dr. Shaun McKenzie, the medical director of surgical oncology at St. David’s Medical Center and a surgical oncologist at Texas Oncology Surgical Specialists, told Community Impact that histotripsy has resulted in lower recovery time for patients and may cause less harm to a patient’s liver compared to other cancer treatments. Additionally, McKenzie said he hopes histotripsy could replace older treatment options and allow doctors to treat and cure more patients with liver cancer. “We were so excited with what we saw and ... the early data,” McKenzie said about histotripsy. St. David’s o ers liver cancer therapy
Histotripsy uses high- frequency ultrasound waves to destroy tumor growth through a patient’s abdominal wall, without the need for invasive treatments like surgery. How it works
St. David’s Medical Center began using the Edison System by HistoSonics to perform histotripsy treatments.
COURTESY HISTOSONICS
Going forward
Why it matters
How it works
Patients often recover very quickly from histotripsy compared to other cancer treatments, McKenzie said. With histotripsy, patients may experience soreness or fatigue but do not have to wait for incisions to heal, delay other treatments or change their schedules, he said. After treatment, McKenzie said he has found that a patient’s liver tends to ll in the area with normal tissue. This is unique from other ablation treatments that permanently kill a portion of the liver once it has been removed, he said. “It looks like maybe we are injuring less liver in the long term with this treatment than other ablation treatments,” he said. A few patients nationwide have had multiple liver tumors respond to the treatment of only one of their tumors through histotripsy, McKenzie said. These could suggest that histotripsy stimulates a patient’s immune system to attack other tumors, he said.
Historically, doctors have not been able to cure many patients from liver tumors and liver cancer, McKenzie said. Histotripsy could allow doctors to treat more patients with cancer. The technology is being studied to potentially treat kidney, prostate and pancreatic cancer, McKenzie said. McKenzie said he hopes physicians will continue to nd new treatments that are easier on patient’s bodies and more e ective at destroying cancer.
The histotripsy technology works to destroy liver tumors by delivering high-frequency ultrasound waves through a patient’s abdominal wall. Unlike other invasive treatment options, histotripsy does not require doctors to make an incision or deliver a probe into a patient’s tumor. Histotripsy received FDA-approval to treat liver cancer tumors or tumors that have spread to the liver through other cancers, such as breast or colon cancer. About half of tumors in the liver have spread from another organ, McKenzie said. The technology does not replace other cancer treatment options but can be used alongside them, such as ablation therapies or radiation. Patients can undergo histotripsy without having to pause other forms of cancer treatment. One of histotripsy’s bene ts is that it can treat tumors that are wrapped around blood vessels— tumors for which doctors could not previously treat for a long time, McKenzie said.
“Our hope is as we develop new treatments that we will nd some that are better than the old ones we had…” DR. SHAUN MCKENZIE, THE MEDICAL DIRECTOR OF SURGICAL ONCOLOGY AT ST. DAVID’S MEDICAL CENTER
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