Dr Paul Lyon
The University of Oxford
Awarded: £119,934
The challenge
High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) can destroy cancers by focusing ultrasound waves from outside the body. Previous studies around the world have demonstrated that it is both safe and effective for treating soft tissue sarcoma, but HIFU has not been investigated within the UK’s health care setting before.
How will this project tackle this challenge?
This early-phase clinical trial aims to investigate the use of HIFU as a treatment for soft tissue sarcoma, when used prior to surgery.
The team will explore the safety and effectiveness of the treatment. They hope that HIFU will be able to reduce the size of sarcomas, which may make surgery safer. The team will also gather data on patients’ immune responses, which could shape future research involving HIFU.
What this means for people affected by sarcoma
With later-phase studies in the future, the team hope that HIFU might be able to treat sarcomas which can’t be treated with surgery. If successful, they hope that the availability of HIFU treatment could improve outcomes for people with soft tissue sarcoma.
Read more about the trial on our Clinical Trials Hub.
High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) can destroy cancers by focusing ultrasound waves from outside the body. It’s both non-invasive and lacks radiation.