High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) Efficacy, Safety, and Applications: Scoping Review with ☸️SAIMSARA

Name: SAIMSARA Evidence Object digital::HIFU_PM
Creator: SAIMSARA
License: https://saimsara.com/license/

SAIMSARA

doi:10.62487/saimsarabe8c64ea

SAIMSARA Journal

Machine-Readable Science • ISSN 3054-3991

High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) Efficacy, Safety, and Applications: Scoping Review with ☸️SAIMSARA

Digital Health & Biotech

Issue 3, Volume 1, 2026

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DOI: 10.62487/saimsarabe8c64ea

Editorial note

• Last update: 2026-06-25 13:33:20

What is this paper about

High-intensity focused ultrasound is emerging as a versatile precision platform for noninvasive tissue ablation, with clinical value spanning cancer, uterine disease, prostate therapy, neurological disorders, vascular applications, and more. The full review reveals where HIFU delivers the strongest benefits, which anatomical and technical factors determine success, and where serious complications, residual disease, and evidence gaps still limit routine use.

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Abstract: To synthesize the structured evidence on High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound, identifying major clinical and experimental applications, recurrent therapeutic mechanisms, safety considerations, patient-selection factors, and emerging research directions across the included original studies. The review uses 740 references and builds its evidence map from 3163 original studies with 288006 total participants/sample observations (topic-deduplicated ΣN). This scoping review indicates that HIFU functions less as a single disease-specific therapy than as a precision acoustic platform for localized tissue ablation and biologic modulation, with effectiveness repeatedly tied to favorable acoustic access, image-based planning, and dose delivery. The most mature human signal supports noninvasive treatment of uterine fibroids and adenomyosis, where a non-perfused volume ratio near or above 80% was associated with durable response and lower re-intervention, while prostate cancer focal therapy showed reassuring functional preservation alongside persistent surveillance needs for residual disease. Across indications, safety appears strongly anatomy-dependent, with rare but serious off-target injuries reinforcing the importance of careful path planning and patient selection. Experimental work consistently highlights an enabling role for HIFU in drug delivery and antitumor immune activation when combined with adjuncts. Future research should prioritize pragmatic comparative trials using standardized, durable, patient-centered endpoints to clarify where HIFU offers genuine advantage over established alternatives.

Keywords: High-intensity focused ultrasound; HIFU ablation; Thermal ablation; Focused ultrasound therapy; Prostate cancer; Uterine adenomyosis; Tumor immunotherapy; Sonothrombolysis; Venous insufficiency; Cosmetic rejuvenation

Review Stats

Final search date and database lock: 2026-06-09 11:22:04 CEST
Plan: Pro (expanded craft tokens; source: PubMed)
Source: PubMed
Total Abstracts/Papers: 4965
Downloaded Abstracts/Papers: 4965
Included original and non-original Abstracts/Papers (all): 4333
Included original Abstracts/Papers (Vote counting by direction of effect): 3163
Reference Index (links used in paper): 740
Total participants/sample observations (topic deduplicated ΣN): 288006

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Reference Index (740)

[1] High-intensity focused ultrasound therapy. — https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpobgyn.2017.09.002
[2] Histotripsy: A Method for Mechanical Tissue Ablation with Ultrasound. — https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-bioeng-073123-022334
[3] High-intensity focused ultrasound for prostate cancer. — https://doi.org/10.1080/17434440.2020.1755258
[4] Clinical applications of high-intensity focused ultrasound. — https://doi.org/10.12809/hkmj154755
[5] Nanomedicines for high‑intensity focused ultrasound cancer treatment and theranostics (Review). — https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2023.11869
[6] High-intensity focused ultrasound-a needleless management for osteoid osteoma: a systematic review. — https://doi.org/10.1007/s12306-023-00801-1
[7] High intensity focused ultrasound: imaging is the key! — https://doi.org/10.1016/j.diii.2014.02.002
[8] High-intensity focused ultrasound in adenomyosis treatment: Insights on safety, efficacy, and reproductive prospects. — https://doi.org/10.1177/17455057241295593

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