ArticleEuropean radiology2021
Improving quality of life in pancreatic cancer patients following high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) in two European centers.
Article in European radiology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers.
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Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 33 citations in OpenAlex.
- Revisiting the Immunological Landscape of Locoregional Therapies for Gastrointestinal Cancers: A Shift Toward Interventional Immuno-Oncology.Current oncology reports · 2026Review
- From questionnaires to single items: independent use of a walking measure in patients after thoracic surgery.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2026Article
- Promising effects of high-intensity focused ultrasound combined with eribulin and sintilimab in a patient with advanced leiomyosarcoma: a case report and literature review.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Article
- Decoding Pancreatic Cancer Pain: From Tumor-Nerve Crosstalk to Targeted Analgesic Strategies.International journal of medical sciences · 2026Review
- Review
- Article
- Deep learning-based assessment of CT markers of sarcopenia and myosteatosis for outcome assessment in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer after high-intensity focused ultrasound treatment.European radiology · 2024Article
- Risk factors for unresectable pancreatic cancer following high-intensity focused ultrasound treatment.Cancer medicine · 2023Article
- Early Assessment of Chemoradiotherapy Response for Locally Advanced Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma by Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Review
- A review of high-intensity focused ultrasound as a novel and non-invasive interventional radiology technique.Journal of interventional medicine · 2022Article
- Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: Current and Emerging Therapeutic Uses of Focused Ultrasound.Cancers · 2022Review
- Novel Tumor-Targeting Nanoparticles for Cancer Treatment-A Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Review
- Locoregional therapies and their effects on the tumoral microenvironment of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.World journal of gastroenterology · 2022Review
- Latest Advances in the Use of Therapeutic Focused Ultrasound in the Treatment of Pancreatic Cancer.Cancers · 2022Review
- Health-Related Quality of Life of Patients with Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer: A Systematic Literature Review.Cancer management and research · 2022Review
- Image-Guided High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound, A Novel Application for Interventional Nuclear Medicine?Journal of nuclear medicine : official publication, Society of Nuclear Medicine · 2021Review
- Focused Ultrasound and Ultrasound Stimulated Microbubbles in Radiotherapy Enhancement for Cancer Treatment.Technology in cancer research & treatmentReview
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Authors and funding
15 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesPancreatic cancer patients often have a high symptom burden, significantly impairing patients' quality of life (QOL). Nevertheless, there are hardly any reports on the impact of high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) on the QOL of treated patients. For the first time, this study evaluated the effect of HIFU on QOL and compared these results in two European centers.
methodsEighty patients with advanced pancreatic cancer underwent HIFU (50 in Germany, 30 in Bulgaria). Clinical assessment included evaluation of QOL and symptoms using the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire at baseline and 1, 3, and 6 months after HIFU. Pain intensity was additionally evaluated with the numerical rating score (NRS).
resultsCompared to baseline, global health significantly improved 3 and 6 months after HIFU treatment (p = 0.02). Functional subscales including physical, emotional, and social functioning were considerably improved at 6 months (p = 0.02, p = 0.01, and p = 0.01, respectively) as were leading symptom pain (p = 0.04 at 6 months), fatigue (p = 0.03 at 3 and p = 0.01 at 6 months), and appetite loss (p = 0.01 at 6 months). Moreover, pain intensity measured by NRS revealed effective and strong pain relief at all time points (p < 0.001). Reported effects were independent of tumor stage, metastatic status, and country of treatment.
conclusionsThis study showed that HIFU represents an effective treatment option of advanced pancreatic cancer improving QOL by increasing global health and mitigation of physical complaints with a low rate of side effects, independent of the examiner. Therefore, HIFU is a worthwhile additional treatment besides systemic palliative chemotherapy or best supportive care in management of this aggressive disease. KEY POINTS: • In a prospective two-center study, it was shown that HIFU represents an effective treatment option of advanced pancreatic cancer improving QOL. • HIFU in pancreatic cancer patients is associated with a low rate of side effects, independent of the performer. • HIFU is a worthwhile additional treatment besides systemic palliative chemotherapy or best supportive care in management of this aggressive disease.
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