KENDALL, Fla. – A South Florida hospital has become the first in the area to use a non-invasive technique to destroy liver tumors.
In the “Hope For Liver’ clinical trial at Baptist Health’s Miami Cancer Institute, the technology called histotripsy can successfully destroy a liver tumor by using high-intensity focused ultrasound pulses.
Dr. Govindarajan Narayanan said the treatment doesn’t involve any needles or incisions — only a high-intensity ultrasound beam.
“Once it causes a bubble cloud, little tiny bubbles form in the area where the energy is targeted, and these bubbles coalesce and result in cavitation of the tumor, so they kill the tumor cells,” said Narayanan, the principal investigator and chief of interventional oncology.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the trial, which is designed to study the safety and efficacy of the treatment. For more information about the clinical trial, visit this page.
ALCOHOL
And if you want to protect your longevity, put down that drink. Researchers have found only five drinks per week on average can take years off a person’s life.
Additionally, women who drink are more vulnerable to brain and heart damage.
Neurologists say that long-haul Covid sufferers who drink are also showing higher rates of neurological and heart damage.
Alcohol use has soared during the pandemic.
Experts said with ‘Dry January’ upon us, people should consider cutting out alcohol to stay healthy amidst the surging omicron cases and for their long-term health.