At UM we are pleased to offer Pancreatic Irreversible electroporation IRE. Pancreatic IRE is an emerging treatment for pancreatic cancer that is promising in select patients.
IRE can be used either along with conventional surgery or in patients who are not surgical candidates. IRE is a new technology that destroys cancerous tumors with short electrical pulses without generating thermal heat. This allows Interventional Radiologist to treat tumors safely that are near critical organs without damaging healthy tissues.
Similar to other ablation devices thin needle probes are inserted under CT and ultrasound guidance in a minimally invasive fashion. Once the probes are within the tumor electrical pulses disrupt the pores located within the cancer cell membranes, interfering with cellular function, and ultimately causing tumor necrosis.