Ultrasound More Widely Used
Our recent reports on the use of Ablation, (the use of radio-frequencies to liquify prostate tumours), may have been specific to prostate cancer treatment in the UK but other cancers have also used it successfully. Take Professor Andy Adam at Guys and St Thomas who uses it on kidney tumours. The technique is only used when surgery cannot be, since in wonderful "catch 22" fashion, there are quite large numbers of kidney surgeries and hence data on survival rates, but little knowledge of survival for ablation. However, already some 80 per cent of kidney tumours appear to be destroyed by the technique. (Ed: the figure was much the same for prostate cancer).