Short-term results of 89 cases of rectal carcinoma treated with high-intensity focused ultrasound and low-dose radiotherapy.

The purpose of this study was to assess the therapeutic effects and safety of combined high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) and low-dose radiotherapy for the treatment of rectal carcinoma. A total of 89 cases of rectal carcinoma, including 20 cases of primary rectal carcinoma and 69 cases of recurrent rectal carcinoma after radical rectectomy, were treated with HIFU from July 1998 to December 2000. Of these, 23 patients had follow-up for more than 1 year. There was complete response (CR) in 22.5%, partial response (PR) in 64.0% and no change (NC) in 13.5%. There were no complications, such as skin burn, visceral perforation or hemorrhage, etc. In the 23 cases with follow-up, the 1-year survival rate was 87.0% (20 of 23) and the 2-year survival rate was 80.0% (12 of 15). It was concluded that HIFU is a new method to treat rectal carcinoma that has remarkable therapeutic effect and is safe, with no significant side effects.