Glioblastoma Foundation funds MRI-guided focused ultrasound for subcortical glioblastoma

Glioblastoma Foundation is pleased to announce the funding of a high impact, FDA-approved technology known as MRI-guided focused ultrasound, specifically for the treatment of glioblastoma, at Weill-Cornell Medical Center. The research is intended to determine the efficacy of MRI-guided ultrasound for the treatment of tumors in subcortical areas not easily removed through surgery.  This research will be conducted by neurosurgeon, Dr. Rohan Ramakrishna.

MRI guided focused ultrasound is a novel, non-invasive, FDA-approved technology with potential use for treatment of difficult to reach glioblastomas in subcortical regions. The research will evaluate tumor response after treatment. Weill-Cornell Medical Center is one of the few centers in the country with expertise in MRI-guided focused ultrasound.  If found to be effective, this technology can be rapidly implemented to transform the standard of care for glioblastoma.

Focused ultrasound technology has been successfully used to treat breast and prostate cancer, but procedures involving the brain are quite a bit more complex. The new MRI-guided process is able to pinpoint the exact location of the tumor and focus thousands of beams on that subcortical area to use all the energy of those beams to destroy the lesion.

The department of Neurosurgery at Weill-Cornell Medical Center has been a pioneer in the development and use of MRI-guided focused ultrasound. They have been successful in using this technology to treat essential tremor, parkinson’s, and epilepsy.

MRI-guided focused ultrasound presents a promising new approach to treating glioblastoma and is a key initiative of Glioblastoma Foundation.