Histotripsy can help release HER2 from cancer tumor cells

contributed by Kelly Malcom | Media contact: Anna Megdell, 734-764-2220 | Patients may contact Cancer AnswerLine™ 800-865-1125

Scientists discover how the therapy could be used to stimulate the immune system against cancer

Jacob Dwyer, Justine Ross, Michigan Medicine

A revolutionary new therapy, called histotripsy, was created at the University of Michigan and uses soundwaves to destroy liver tumors.

It was approved for clinical use by FDA in 2023.

The scientists behind the development of histotripsy are actively investigating its use with other types of tumors including breast cancer.

A recent study in the journal Cancers demonstrates how histotripsy could stimulate the immune system to destroy a cancer through the release of tumor antigens.

Histotripsy can trigger the “abscopal effect”, wherein the ablation of tumors in one area leads to an immune response that shrink tumors in other sites of the body.

The researchers hypothesized that this effect is caused by the activation of the immune system against cancer-related proteins that are released from tumor cells by sonic disruption.

They tested this using a mouse model of breast cancer where one tumor was disrupted with histotripsy.

They found that treated cancers released a protein called HER2, a well-known tumor antigen found in some breast cancers.

Importantly, the higher the histotripsy dose, the more HER2 released from the tumor cells.

This supports the use of histotripsy immunotherapy against HER2 positive cancers.

Authors: Shengzhuang Tang, Reliza McGinnis, Zhengyi Cao, James R. Baker, Jr., Zhen Xu and Suhe Wang

Paper cited: “Ultrasound-Guided Histotripsy Triggers the Release of Tumor-Associated Antigens from Breast Cancers,” Cancers. DOI: 10.3390/cancers17020183

Disclosure: U-M retains a financial interest in HistoSonics, as do a number of researchers who were involved in this project and who helped develop the technology licensed to HistoSonics, including Xu, who is a company founder, stockholder and consultant. Each stands to benefit financially from the success of the platform. The company was formed with support from Innovation Partnerships, U-M’s central hub for research commercialization.