Newswise — Patients with benign breast tumors may be eligible for a new focused ultrasound–based investigational treatment as part of a pivotal, multi-center clinical study. The trial began last month at the University of Virginia (UVA) Medical Center.

David Brenin, MD, Associate Professor of Surgery and Chief of Breast Surgery at UVA, is the Principal Investigator for the trial. He recently completed a 20-patient pilot study to test the safety and efficacy of the device, Theraclion’s EchoPulse system. Now, in this single arm prospective study, the procedure will be performed in 100 patients at several sites worldwide, including UVA, Montefiore Medical Center, Columbia Presbyterian, Bellevue Hospital Center in New York, and others. As these new sites begin treating, the list of locations will be updated on our website and on clinicaltrials.gov. “The patient selection criteria have been updated since the pilot study,” says Dr. Brenin. “The new parameters for the size of the fibroadenoma and the range of symptoms should allow us to include more patients. Furthermore, our experience and improvements to the device have allowed us to decrease the overall treatment time.”

EchoPulse is designed to non-invasively ablate benign breast tumors using ultrasound-guided focused ultrasound treatment. Although it is not yet approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, the system received the CE Mark in Europe five years ago, where it is also used to treat breast fibroadenomas and treat thyroid nodules and is also under investigation for other conditions.

“If this multi-center trial is successful, we will seek regulatory approval in the US,” says Theraclion’s Chief Medical Officer, Michel Nuta, MD. “Approval by the FDA would allow many more women to receive precise treatment of breast fibroadenomas non-invasively and on an outpatient basis, enabling them to return to their daily lives almost immediately.”

Patients who are interested in this study at the University of Virginia (IRB# 19437) should contact Research Coordinator Katie Rea via phone (434) 243-0315 or email [email protected]. More information for patients and referring physicians can also be found on the UVA website.

Dr. Brenin plans to present the initial data from the pilot study at the 18th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Breast Surgeons in Las Vegas in April 2017.

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About Focused UltrasoundFocused ultrasound uses ultrasonic energy guided by real-time imaging to treat tissue deep in the body without incisions or radiation. Multiple intersecting beams of ultrasound are directed and concentrated on a target, much like a magnifying glass can focus multiple beams of light on a single point. Where each individual beam passes through the tissue, there is no effect. But, at the focal point, the convergence of the beams of focused ultrasound energy results in many important biological effects depending on the nature of the tissue and the ultrasound parameters.

Today, focused ultrasound is approved in the United States to treat essential tremor, uterine fibroids, reduce pain from bone metastases and treat the prostate. Different systems are approved to treat 22 diseases in regions around the world. The technology is in various stages of research and development for more than 70 diseases, including Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, hypertension and tumors of the brain, liver, breast and pancreas.

About the Focused Ultrasound FoundationThe Focused Ultrasound Foundation was created to improve the lives of millions of people worldwide by accelerating the development of focused ultrasound, an early-stage, noninvasive, therapeutic technology with the potential to transform the treatment of many serious medical disorders. The Foundation works to clear the path to global adoption by coordinating and funding research, fostering collaboration, and building awareness among patients and professionals. It is dedicated to ensuring that focused ultrasound finds its place as a mainstream therapy for a range of conditions within years, not decades. Since its establishment in 2006, the Foundation has become the largest non-governmental source of funding for focused ultrasound research. More information can be found at www.fusfoundation.org.