The Taipei Cancer Center said it is offering a new noninvasive treatment for bone metastasis that it said offers lasting pain relief without radiation.
The center, which is affiliated with Taipei Medical University, said that it added the treatments in late May using ExAblate, a device developed by Israeli company InSightec Ltd, which uses magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound surgery technology.
The center said it is the first in Taiwan to use the ExAblate device.
“So far, eight patients have undergone the new type of treatment,” it said.
“We are excited to offer our patients a new and noninvasive course of treatment,” Taipei Cancer Center vice superintendent Chiou Jeng-fong (邱仲峰) said.
The treatment offers quick and lasting pain relief without radiation, Chiou said, adding that most patients have reported pain relief within days.
“We look forward to working with Taipei Cancer Center to lead the way in offering noninvasive solutions for a wide variety of indications,” InSightec’s Roni Yagel said in a statement.
Bone metastases occur when cancer cells spread from their primary site to other parts of the body. More than two-thirds of breast and prostate cancer cases spread to bones, InSightec said.
Pain is the most severe symptom and pain medications and palliative radiation therapy are the most common treatments prescribed, it said. However, up to 30 percent of patients do not respond to radiation therapy or are unable to undergo radiation for pain relief, it added.
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