Study of ExAblate Focused Ultrasound Ablation of Breast Cancer

September 2, 2026 updated by: InSightec

Study of ExAblate Focused Ultrasound Ablation of Breast Cancer Under MR Guidance (MRgFUS) and MRI Evaluation of Ablation

The goal of this prospective, non-randomized, single-arm, multi site, international study is to develop data to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the ExAblate MRgFUS system in the ablation of breast cancer and of MRI.

The goal of MRgFUS ablation of breast cancer is to plan and ablate the entire tumor volume in a treatable and device accessible location.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

In this international, non-randomized, single-arm study, a total of 200 patients with a positive diagnosis of invasive breast cancer with a scheduled surgical resection will be enrolled into the trial. Eligible participants will be evaluated and treated with ExAblate breast ablation prior to their planned definitive surgical treatment. After the 10 to 21 days post ExAblate therapy, study participants will have another contrast-enhanced MR imaging examination. Their planned tumor excision will then be completed no later than 14 days from the contrast-enhanced, post ExAblate procedure MR imaging examination. Additionally, the end points of the study will be compared against the CORE Pathology Lab results.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
14

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Germany
      • Bottrop, Germany, 46236
        • Marienhospital

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Women age 18 years with invasive breast cancer
  2. Patient with contrast-enhanced MR imaging confirming a single focal breast lesion less than 2 cm in diameter
  3. Lesion clearly seen on contrast-enhanced MR and in a treatable location
  4. Patient who is willing to undergo and be scheduled for sentinel lymph node biopsy
  5. Patient scheduled and consented to surgical (lumpectomy or mastectomy) resection of the breast cancer
  6. Patient with clinical Stage I disease: T1 M0 N0
  7. Patient who signs an informed consent form for screening, SLNB, ablation, and follow-up visits.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Invasive lobular carcinoma;
  2. DCIS without invasive components on core biopsy;
  3. Tamoxifen, Aromatase Inhibitors, and Neoadjuvant chemotherapy within 30 days prior to ExAblate.
  4. Prior XRT or ablative therapy to the target breast;
  5. Patients currently receiving anticoagulation therapy within the previous 14 days;
  6. Lesions difficult to target (<1 cm from skin, nipple or the rib cage), as visualized on pre-therapy MRI;
  7. Microcalcifications as the only sign of breast cancer on imaging studies;
  8. Extensive intraductal components (EIC) on core biopsy.
  9. Patients with breast implants;
  10. Patients with prior surgical clips or other markers at the site of the breast tumor;
  11. Patients with severe cerebrovascular disease (multiple CVA or CVA within 6 months);
  12. hemolytic anemia (hematocrit < 30);
  13. Pregnant or lactating, post-partum women;
  14. Patient overall health status of ASA >2
  15. Patient with active and ongoing infection at any body site;
  16. Poor blood glucose control.
  17. Severe hypertension
  18. Patients with unstable cardiac status
  19. Contraindication to MR or ExAblate ablation therapy
  20. Patient with history of deep vein thrombosis
  21. With history of pulmonary embolism;
  22. Patient with sleep apnea;
  23. Patient with airway problems;
  24. Patient with severe claustrophobia;
  25. Patient with non-MRI compatible implanted metal devices;
  26. Patient with difficulty lying prone and still for up to 3 hours (180 minutes) in the MR unit;
  27. Patient who cannot fit comfortably in the magnet or patients >250 lbs;
  28. Patient with prior reaction to contrast agent;
  29. Patient with history of grand mal seizures;
  30. Patient with severely impaired renal function with estimated glomerular filtration rate <30 mL/min/1.73m2 and/or who is on dialysis;

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: ExAblate
Device: ExAblate MRgFUS
100% ablation of an up-to-2-cm breast cancer visible on an contrast-enhanced MRI with 5-10 mm margins around the primary tumor

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Adverse Events
Time Frame: 5 weeks post treatment
To evaluate the incidence and severity of the ExAblate MRgFUS device-related complications to establish the safety profile of the ExAblate ablation of breast cancer visible on contrast-enhanced MRI with 5-10 mm margins around the primary tumor
5 weeks post treatment
Histopathological analyses
Time Frame: 5 weeks post treatment
To estimate the effectiveness of ExAblate MRgFUS to ablate 100% of an up-to-2-cm breast cancer visible on an contrast-enhanced MRI with 5-10 mm margins around the primary tumor.
5 weeks post treatment

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
MR imaging
Time Frame: 5 weeks post treatment
To estimate the sensitivity of post-ablation MRI in identifying residual disease following ablation.
5 weeks post treatment

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
InSightec

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Hans Kolberg, MD, FUS BOTTROP

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

Helpful Links

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
November 24, 2010

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
April 14, 2014

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
April 14, 2014

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
June 13, 2012

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 14, 2012

First Posted (Estimated)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
June 15, 2012

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
September 8, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
September 2, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
September 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • BC006

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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