MR-guided focused ultrasound for painful bone metastases: safety when combined with chemotherapy

Magnetic Resonance guided Focused Ultrasound (MRgFUS) is a non-invasive, non-ionizing treatment producing thermal ablation using high intensity focused ultrasound and MR thermometry to denervate pain from bone metastases. A recent phase III study comparing MRgFUS to sham treatment for a painful bone metastasis allowed patients to be treated with concurrent chemotherapy as long as the regimen was stable for at least 4 weeks. We performed a retrospective analysis of the safety of combination MRgFUS with active systemic chemotherapy in patients treated on this study.