A study looking at high intensity focal ultrasound for symptoms of women’s cancers (HIFU-Gynae)

There were 2 parts to this trial:

• part 1 looked to see if it was safe and possible to treat this group of women with HIFU
• part 2 looked at how HIFU worked to control symptoms of cancer

Results for part 1
17 women were suitable to have HIFU in part 1. The study team found that it was safe and possible to give HIFU to this group of people.

Results for part 2
11 women were suitable to have HIFU in part 2. Everyone who took part said they had pain before having HIFU. 

The team looked at:

• how people rated their pain after HIFU. They did this by recording their pain scores. 
• if the amount of pain relief they took after HIFU was less

People filled in a diary to record this information from day 7 to day 30 after HIFU. 

The team found that HIFU improved pain and reduced the amount of pain medication that people needed. This was in:

• 2 out of 5 people with cancer that came back inside the area between the hip bones (pelvis)
• 3 out of 6 people with cancer that came back outside the pelvis

2 people had vaginal bleeding when they joined the trial. After HIFU:

• 1 person said the bleeding got a bit better
• 1 person had no change in the bleeding 

Quality of life
The team looked at how treatment affected quality of life. They found that the women didn’t feel better physically. They said that their mental health improved. This was for everyone who took part, not only those whose symptoms got better. 

Side effects
The most common side effects of HIFU were:

• skin problems such as a skin rash
• the cancer pain getting worse for a short period of time 

Conclusion
This was a small study. It showed that it was safe to give HIFU to women whose gynaecological cancer had come back. And it helped to improve symptoms in some women. The team also found the side effects were as expected and were manageable.

The team say it was more difficult to treat areas of cancer that were deep inside the pelvis. This is the area between the hip bones. Pain in these areas is difficult to manage with standard pain control. The team hope that improvements in how HIFU is given can improve this in the future. 

More detailed information
There is more information about this research in the references below. 

Please note, the information we link to here is not in plain English. It has been written for healthcare professionals and researchers.

Feasibility of palliating recurrent gynecological tumors with MRGHIFU: comparison of symptom, quality-of-life, and imaging response in intra and extra-pelvic disease
G Imseeh and others
International Journal of Hyperthermia, 2021. Volume 38, issue 1, pages 623-632.

MR guided high intensity focused ultrasound (MRgHIFU) for treating recurrent gynaecological tumours: a pilot feasibility study
S Giles and others
British Journal of Radiology, 2091. Volume 92, Issue 1098, pages 1-9. 

Where this information comes from    
We have based this summary on the information in the article above. This has been reviewed by independent specialists (peer reviewed ) and published in a medical journal. We have not analysed the data ourselves. As far as we are aware, the link we list above is active and the article is free and available to view.