UToledo Health Performs Northwest Ohio’s First Histotripsy Procedures

UToledo Health Performs Northwest Ohio's First Histotripsy Procedures

UToledo Health is the first health system in Northwest Ohio to perform histotripsy, a groundbreaking, noninvasive procedure that destroys tumors using focused sound waves instead of a scalpel, heat or radiation.

The new technology, in clinical use at the University of Toledo Medical Center since July, provides an alternative method for treating solid tumors, including tumors in locations that can make surgery challenging or for patients who may not be able to safely undergo surgery. UToledo Health is using the HistoSonics Edison System, the only histotripsy platform authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

"UToledo Health is committed to being at the forefront of medical innovation so we can provide our patients with the most advanced, comprehensive options for care," said Dr. Charles Callahan, executive vice president for health affairs. "By adding histotripsy, we're expanding our capabilities to strengthen cancer care and give our physicians new tools to effectively treat complex diseases."

Histotripsy uses a robotically guided device to deliver rapid, high-intensity ultrasound pulses to a precisely targeted tumor, allowing physicians to destroy cancer at the cellular level.

The process works by creating microscopic gas bubbles inside the tumor. As those bubbles rapidly expand and violently collapse, they liquefy the targeted tissue, reducing the tumor to a harmless liquid debris that the body naturally absorbs over the following weeks.

Noninvasive Approach

Because histotripsy requires no incisions and destroys tissue mechanically rather than with heat, it avoids many of the side effects associated with chemotherapy, radiation and open surgery. And because it is not heat-based, it can safely be used to treat tumors located near major blood vessels and bile ducts, which are structures that often limit other treatment options.

"This is an extraordinarily precise method for treating cancer," said Dr. Obi Ekwenna, professor and vice chair of the Department of Urology and leader of UToledo Health's histotripsy program. "When treating cancer, we want to destroy all of the tumor while protecting as much healthy tissue as we can.

"Think about everything we are not doing to the patient," Ekwenna added. "No incision. No radiation. No heat. We destroy the tumor and the patient goes home the same day. In my years of treating cancer patients, I have not seen a bigger shift in what we are able to offer someone with a solid tumor."

Most patients undergo the procedure under general anesthesia as an outpatient or short-stay treatment, allowing for a rapid return to normal activities.

Emerging research also suggests a potential added benefit: because histotripsy does not use heat, it leaves tumor proteins intact, which early clinical trials indicate may help stimulate the body's own immune system to recognize and attack cancer cells elsewhere.

FDA Authorized for Liver Tumors

The FDA approved histotripsy in October 2023 for the noninvasive destruction of liver tumors, including both primary liver cancers and tumors that have spread to the liver from other parts of the body. Researchers nationwide are studying its use in other organs, including the kidneys, pancreas, prostate and brain.

"This technology is still new and we're only just beginning to understand its full potential," Ekwenna said. "Liver tumors are where the FDA authorization stands today, but the underlying science is showing histotripsy could help patients with a much wider range of cancer types.

"What excites me most is what this could mean for patients down the road," he added. "As research expands into the kidneys, pancreas, prostate and other organs, we expect the number of patients who could benefit from this technology to keep growing."