title: First noninvasive thermal ablation of a brain tumor with MR-guided focused ultrasound.
abstract: Magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound surgery (MRgFUS) allows for precise thermal ablation of target tissues. While this emerging modality is increasingly used for the treatment of various types of extracranial soft tissue tumors, it has only recently been acknowledged as a modality for noninvasive neurosurgery. MRgFUS has been particularly successful for functional neurosurgery, whereas its clinical application for tumor neurosurgery has been delayed for various technical and procedural reasons. Here, we report the case of a 63-year-old patient presenting with a centrally located recurrent glioblastoma who was included in our ongoing clinical phase I study aimed at evaluating the feasibility and safety of transcranial MRgFUS for brain tumor ablation. Applying 25 high-power sonications under MR imaging guidance, partial tumor ablation could be achieved without provoking neurological deficits or other adverse effects in the patient. This proves, for the first time, the feasibility of using transcranial MR-guided focused ultrasound to safely ablate substantial volumes of brain tumor tissue.
authors: Department of Neurosurgery, Kantonsspital Aarau, Tellstrasse, 5001 Aarau, Switzerland ; Brain Tumor Center, Kantonsspital Aarau, 5001 Aarau, Switzerland.
authors: Daniel
authors: D
authors: Coluccia
authors: Department of Neurosurgery, Kantonsspital Aarau, Tellstrasse, 5001 Aarau, Switzerland ; Brain Tumor Center, Kantonsspital Aarau, 5001 Aarau, Switzerland.
authors: Javier
authors: J
authors: Fandino
authors: Department of Neurosurgery, Kantonsspital Aarau, Tellstrasse, 5001 Aarau, Switzerland ; Brain Tumor Center, Kantonsspital Aarau, 5001 Aarau, Switzerland.
authors: Lucia
authors: L
authors: Schwyzer
authors: Center for MR Research, University Children's Hospital, 8032 Zürich, Switzerland ; Children's Research Center, University Children's Hospital, 8032 Zürich, Switzerland.
authors: Ruth
authors: R
authors: O'Gorman
authors: Division of Neuroradiology, Department of Radiology, Kantonsspital Aarau, 5001 Aarau, Switzerland.
authors: Luca
authors: L
authors: Remonda
authors: Division of Neuroradiology, Department of Radiology, Kantonsspital Aarau, 5001 Aarau, Switzerland.
authors: Javier
authors: J
authors: Anon
authors: Center for MR Research, University Children's Hospital, 8032 Zürich, Switzerland ; Children's Research Center, University Children's Hospital, 8032 Zürich, Switzerland.
authors: Ernst
authors: E
authors: Martin
authors: Center for MR Research, University Children's Hospital, 8032 Zürich, Switzerland ; Children's Research Center, University Children's Hospital, 8032 Zürich, Switzerland.
authors: Beat
authors: B
authors: Werner
keywords: Brain tumor; Focused ultrasound; HIFU; MRgFUS; Thermal ablation; Transcranial