MR guided focused ultrasound treatment of soft tissue tumors of the extremities — preliminary experience

Background/introduction Soft tissue tumors are a heterogeneous group of tumors arising from connective tissues. These tumors may be benign, benign but locally aggressive, or malignant. Surgery either alone or in combination with adjuvant therapies such as radiation or chemotherapy can potentially cure a patient with a soft tissue tumor. The morbidity and complications associated with treatment can have significant and lasting adverse effects on limb function and quality of life. In some situations, patients develop local recurrence of disease and require further surgery, which can result in further treatment-associated morbidity. We have adapted MR guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) techniques to the treatment of benign and malignant soft tissue tumors of the extremities with the goal of safely and effectively performing MRgFUS ablation on human subjects. This presentation describes the use of MRgFUS for the treatment of desmoid fibromatosis, arteriovenous malformations, and malignant sarcomas.