Dr. Valerio D'Agostino from the University of Naples Federico II in Naples will talk about his team's research, which analyzed this imaging method in a total of 36 patients. Although the standard for this ultrasound method is for use in a distance greater than 1 cm between the target lesion and sensitive structures, the team wanted to test it in closer proximity to these structures.
Goals of this study included analyzing complications involving sensitive structures, assessing treatment response, and looking at the impact of the proximity of sensitive structures on treatment efficacy.
The researchers found no documented adverse events over grade 2. The average pain score at baseline, measured via the visual analog scale, was 4. This was followed by complete pain relief at clinical follow-up 12 to 24 months for all but three patients. For these three patients, one was re-treated with MR-guided high-intensity focused ultrasound, while the other two were treated with CT-guided radiofrequency ablation.
The researchers also found that location in proximity of sensitive structures did not affect the efficacy of treatments (p < 0.01).
See what else the team found at D'Agostino's presentation.
