A new book by bestselling author John Grisham is giving new impetus to a handful of companies striving to develop what they say could be a trailblazing treatment for cancer and Alzheimer's disease.
The Tumor is a fictional account of a 35-year-old man with brain cancer who, a decade into the future, is treated with focused ultrasound - a real-life technology that is currently being researched as a potential cure for more than 50 diseases.
Focused ultrasound uses soundwaves to destroy damaged tissue deep within the body, doing away with the need for incisions or radiation therapy. It has been approved in the US as a treatment for several conditions, including prostate cancer.
As a treatment for brain and other cancers, it remains a futuristic concept.
Research is at an early stage and, with clinical data in short supply, US insurers have so far been reluctant to provide coverage.
But the book, which Grisham has released free of charge, could help developers to make a case for funding needed to take this niche technology into the mainstream, said company executives and physicians interviewed by Reuters.
"Having a world-famous author talk about it can only help raise awareness," said Mark Carol, chief executive of SonaCare Medical.
SonaCare has two focused ultrasound devices on the market, one to treat diseased cells in soft tissue and another to ablate prostate tissue.
Men using SonaCare's device as a treatment for prostate cancer had a nine-in-10 chance that an MRI scan would show no sign of a tumour after 12 months, according to a study published in The Lancet Oncology in 2012.
Israeli company InSightec has approval for different uses: the treatment of bone metastases and uterine fibroids - benign growths in the walls of the uterus.
Maurice Ferr, InSightec's chief executive, said enquiries from patients about the company's devices for the brain had increased "by a factor of a hundred" since the book's release.
Grisham is on the board of the Focused Ultrasound Foundation, a non-profit organisation.
He describes The Tumor as "the most important book I've ever written".
The author of The Firm and The Pelican Brief says he was neither paid to write the book nor stands to gain financially.
For BrainSonix Corp, which is conducting early-stage research on brain mapping, the book has led to a spike in enquiries from scientists and investors, said chief executive Alexander Bystritsky.
