Endoscopic ultrasound guided antitumor therapy

This paper will review the possibilities of EUS guided anti-tumor therapy. Ablative energy may be delivered to a tumor under EUS guidance to destruct tumor cells by ultrasound itself, radiofrequency or radiation. Pilot results of endoscopic high intensity focused ultrasound in a human trial have been reported. The feasibility of performing EUS guided radiofrequency ablation has been reported in a swine model. An EUS bases radiation target simulation method has been developed for anal cancer therapy. Targeted delivery of an anti-cancer agent into a tumor under EUS guidance is possible as reported in an early clinical trial of local immunotherapy (Cytoimplant) or modified viruses delivered by EUS guided fine needle injection in patients with advanced pancreatic carcinoma. Image guided injection of alcohol is another approach used for local tumor ablation. Application of other ablation therapies such as laser, microwave and cryo is also conceptually feasible. We will have to wait and see where these initial and ongoing attempts for applying EUS against cancer take us.