Pancreatic Cancer

Focused Ultrasound Therapy

Focused ultrasound is a noninvasive, therapeutic technology with the potential to improve the quality of life and decrease the cost of care for patients with pancreatic cancer. There are two major types of pancreatic cancer, one is the exocrine type, (which is derived from digestive enzymes) with adenocarcinoma being the most common. The other is the neuroendocrine tumors, (also called islet cell tumors), arise from hormone producing cells, which are less frequent. This novel technology focuses beams of ultrasound energy precisely and accurately on targets deep in the body without damaging surrounding normal tissue.

How it Works
Where the beams converge, focused ultrasound can produce a couple of effects. One is ablation, or thermal destruction of tissue. The goal could be complete ablation of the cancer or it can be done partially, and partial ablation may help awaken the immune system for a more generalized response. This ablation can also be targeted at the innervation of the pancreas, to help lessen the pain from the disease. A second approach is to treat the targeted tissue to enable enhanced absorption of chemotherapy. 

Benefits

Current treatment options for pancreatic cancer include combinations of surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, embolization, and ablative methods such as radiofrequency or microwave ablation, yet these still not very effective for many patients. Focused ultrasound can be used alone or in combination with other therapies to treat pancreatic cancer by reducing tumor size and spread and even “debulking” the tumor prior to surgical resection. Focused ultrasound can also decrease the pain often associated with pancreatic cancer by decreasing tumor size and destroying the sensory nerves surrounding the tumor.

Advantages:

• Noninvasive – no incisions, no risk of infection or bleeding, less pain and rapid recovery
• Image-guided – minimal damage to surrounding healthy tissue
• No ionizing radiation – fewer side effects and can be safely repeated
• Initiation of an anti-tumor immune response – destruction of tumor cells leads to exposure of tumor antigens, which can then be recognized and targeted by the body’s immune system
• Directly enhances the effectiveness of immuno-oncology drugs

Regulatory Authorizations

The Model JC system manufactured by Chongqing Haifu has been approved in Europe for palliative treatment in patients with pancreatic cancer.

Focused ultrasound treatment for patients with pancreatic cancer is not universally reimbursed by medical insurers.

Clinical Trials

A clinical trial in the USA, UK and Europe has opened using focused ultrasound to augment the penetration of chemotherapy in patients with non-resectable pancreatic cancer.  

A clinical trial in South Korea is using focused ultrasound prior to chemotherapy in patients with borderline resectable and unresectable pancreatic cancer.  

A clinical trial in Japan is using the Suizenji system to heat the target in patients with pancreatic cancer.

A clinical trial in Stanford, CA is using the Suizenji system to heat the target in patients with pancreatic cancer.

A clinical trial in Spain is using Histotripsy for the treatment of pancreatic adenocarcinoma.  

A clinical trial in Cologne, Germany is using MRI guided, thermal ablation focused ultrasound to treat pancreatic cancer tumors. (German Clinical Trial Registry DRKS00033237) This trial is not listed on Clinical Trials.gov.  

A clinical trial in Bonn, Germany is using ultrasound guided thermal ablation to treat pancreatic cancer tumors.   (German Clinical Trial Registry DRKS00012367) This trial is not listed on Clinical Trials.gov. 

The clinical trial in Norway has been completed.  

The iFOCUS clinical trial in Utrecht has completed its initial part, and the second part should begin in Q3.  

We have learned that there may be locations using the device in an off label fashion to treat patients with Pancreatic Cancer. We do not know who these sites are, but if you are interested, you can contact the manufacturer to ask about this at https://myhistotripsy.com/contact-us/. 

The Foundation updates these pages regularly, but with the increasing number of clinical trials, we want to be sure that our audience has the latest information available. Therefore, we also added the website search information for the above trials. If you click here, it will take you to the latest information available from https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/. 

See a list of treatment sites >
See a list of laboratory research sites >

Preclinical Laboratory Studies

• *Cavitation-related sonodynamic therapy combined with NRF-2 inhibition to improve pancreatic cancer response to chemotherapy via stromal disruption and oxydative stress modulation (Inserm LabTAU)
• *Characterization of a Transesophageal Focused Ultrasound Transducer for Endoscopic Pancreatic Cancer Ablation (Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech Carilion)
• *Combining histotripsy and immunotherapy for the treatment of pancreatic cancer (Institute of Cancer Research)
• *Defining the abscopal effect in pancreatic cancer following focal tumor ablation (Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech Carilion)
• *Enhancing Post-Histotripsy Anti-Tumor Immune Responses and Drug Delivery via Tumor Vascular Normalization in Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma (University of Michigan)
• *Leveraging Focused Ultrasound (FUS) to improve immunotherapy responses in Pancreatic Cancer (University of Oxford)
• *Leveraging focused ultrasound to enhance adoptive T cell therapy efficacy in high-fidelity peritoneal cancer models (University of Virginia Health System)
• *Maximizing systemic anti-tumor immune responses in pancreatic cancer using histotripsy in combination with immunotherapeutic approaches (Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech Carilion)
• *Multimodal analysis of immune response post-FUS in two tumor models (University of Michigan)

*The Focused Ultrasound Foundation is fully or partially funding these projects

Manufacturers

The following manufacturers are active in the field of focused ultrasound and its applications for pancreatic cancer.

• Beijing Yuande Bio-Medical Engineering Co., Ltd. | Beijing, China | www.yuande.com
• Chongqing Haifu Medical Technology Co., Ltd. | Chongqing, China | www.haifu.com.cn/en_index.asp
• EpiSonica Corp. | Hsichu City, Taiwan | www.episonica.com
• IMGT, Co., Ltd. | Seoul, Korea | www.nanoimgt.com
• INSIGHTEC LTD | Tirat Carmel, Israel | www.insightec.com
• Profound Medical Corp. | Mississauga, Ont. Canada | www.profoundmedical.com
• Shanghai A&S Science Technology Development Co., Ltd. | Shanghai, China | www.aishen.com.cn
• SONIRE Therapeutics | Tokyo, Japan | www.sonire-therapeutics.com

Media & Videos

Notable Papers

Suggested Reading: Focused Ultrasound for Pancreatic Cancer  (PDF), July 2019.

Sears O, Zhang H, Blatz N, Cui X, Tsung A. Focused Ultrasound in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: Mechanisms, Preclinical Evidence, and Emerging Clinical Applications. Cancers (Basel). 2026 Feb 10;18(4):574. doi: 10.3390/cancers18040574. PMID: 41749827 

Muragaki Y, Sofuni A, Okamoto J, Satoh T, Iseki H, Ikuta S, Asai Y, Yoshizawa S, Umemura SI, Itoi T. First-in-Human Safety and Efficacy Study on Combination of High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound Sonication and Micellar Nanoparticle-Encapsulated Epirubicin, K-912: A Novel Sonodynamic Therapy for the Treatment of Refractory Abdominal Cancers. Ultrasound Med Biol. 2025 Nov 28:S0301-5629(25)00419-3. doi: 10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2025.10.011. PMID: 41318252 

Stepanechko M, Gamache A, Padilla F, Nemshick M, Kitelinger L, Conarroe C, DeWitt M, Hossack JA, Bullock TNJ. Single Treatment Boiling Histotripsy Focused Ultrasound Ablation Neither Negates nor Enhances the Activity of α-CD40 in a Pancreatic Cancer Model. IEEE Trans Biomed Eng. 2025 Nov;72(11):3404-3418. doi: 10.1109/TBME.2025.3568594. PMID: 40372859 

Gannon J, Paul T, Imran KM, Edwards M, Ziemlewicz T, Trusiano B, Moore T, Youngs C, Powar M, Keith A, Lopez V, Ivester H, Ruger L, Clark S, Coutermarsh-Ott S, Eden K, Vidal-Jove J, Grumbir J, Johnsen E, Laeseke P, Amaral J, Stopek J, Allen IC, Vlaisavljevich E. Non-Invasive Pancreas Ablation Using Histotripsy: Pre-clinical Safety Study in an In Vivo Porcine Model. Ultrasound Med Biol. 2025 Oct 3:S0301-5629(25)00295-9. doi: 10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2025.07.026. PMID: 41046199 

Kim D, Hong J, Kim D, Sim W, Cho A, Gil G, Moon H, Lee HJ, Son K. Comparison of mechanical and thermal effects of focused ultrasound on drug delivery efficiency and toxicity for pancreatic cancer treatment. Ultrasonics. 2025 Oct 16;159:107861. doi: 10.1016/j.ultras.2025.107861. PMID: 41124727 

Liu Y, Chen M, Liu L, Shen Z, Wu B. High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) in Pancreatic Cancer-Related Pain: Current Evidence and Future Directions. Ultrasound Med Biol. 2025 Jul 15:S0301-5629(25)00186-3. doi: 10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2025.05.032. PMID: 40670261 

Rohfritsch A, Drainville A, Beye B, Renault G, Gannon J, Woodacre J, Chen Y, Barrot L, Lagonnet S, Lafond M, Prat F, Lafon C. Development of an Endoscopic Ultrasound Device for Delivering Microbubble-Mediated Cavitation in the Pancreas: Characterization and Preclinical In-Vivo Results. IEEE Trans Ultrason Ferroelectr Freq Control. 2025 Aug 6;PP. doi: 10.1109/TUFFC.2025.3596530. PMID: 40768451 

Yamaguchi T, Kitahara S, Matsui A, Okamoto J, Muragaki Y, Masamune K. HIFU induces reprogramming of the tumor immune microenvironment in a pancreatic cancer mouse model. Med Mol Morphol. 2025 Jan 28. doi: 10.1007/s00795-025-00419-1. PMID: 39870899 

Ran L, Yang W, Chen X, Zhang J, Zhou K, Zhu H, Jin C. High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound Ablation Combined With Pharmacogenomic-Guided Chemotherapy for Advanced Pancreatic Cancer: Initial Experience. Ultrasound Med Biol. 2024 Oct;50(10):1566-1572. doi: 10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2024.06.013. Epub 2024 Jul 18. PMID: 39025741 

Yao Y, Zheng Y, Wu M, Gao Y, Yu Q, Liu M, Luo X, Wang R, Jiang L. CD133-targeted multifunctional nanomicelles for dual-modality imaging and synergistic high-intensity focus ultrasound (HIFU) ablation on pancreatic cancer in nude mice. J Mater Chem B. 2024 May 22. doi: 10.1039/d4tb00091a. PMID: 38775254 

Liu Y, Ji Y, Zhu J, Zhu L, Zhu Y, Bao Z, Zhao H. Repeated highintensity focused ultrasound combined with iodine125 seed interstitial brachytherapy offers improved quality of life and pain control for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer: A 52patient retrospective study. Oncol Lett. 2024 Feb 16;27(4):157. doi: 10.3892/ol.2024.14290. eCollection 2024 Apr. PMID: 38426153 

Gray MD, Spiers L, Coussios CC. Sound speed and attenuation of human pancreas and pancreatic tumors and their influence on focused ultrasound thermal and mechanical therapies. Med Phys. 2024 Feb;51(2):809-825. doi: 10.1002/mp.16622. Epub 2023 Jul 21. PMID: 37477551 

Nowak S, Kloth C, Theis M, Marinova M, Attenberger UI, Sprinkart AM, Luetkens JA. 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. Eur Radiol. 2024 Jan;34(1):279-286. doi: 10.1007/s00330-023-09974-6. Epub 2023 Aug 12. PMID: 37572195  

Zhou K, Strunk H, Dimitrov D, Vidal-Jove J, Gonzalez-Carmona MA, Essler M, Jin C, Mei Z, Zhu H, Marinova M. US-guided high-intensity focused ultrasound in pancreatic cancer treatment: a consensus initiative between Chinese and European HIFU centers. Int J Hyperthermia. 2024;41(1):2295812. doi: 10.1080/02656736.2023.2295812. Epub 2023 Dec 30. PMID: 38159562 

Click here for additional references from PubMed.