Ultrasound used in mice cancer treatment

PHILADELPHIA, Nov 5, 2005 (UPI via COMTEX) -- For the first time, ultrasound is being used in animal models -- to treat cancer by disrupting tumor blood vessels, say U.S. researchers.

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine completed a study in mice in which they used ultrasound, and after three minutes of treatment at an intensity similar to what is used in physiotherapy ultrasound -- about 2.5 watts -- researchers observed that the tumors had little or no blood supply.

"We used an ultrasound intensity higher than that used for imaging, but much lower than the high intensities used to ablate tissue," said study leader Chandra Sehgal, director of Ultrasound Research in the Department of Radiology. "We saw that this new use had a profound effect on shutting down the blood flow to the tumor and reducing the growth of the tumor in mice."

The findings were published in the journal Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology.

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