Dr Gary Onik MD is currently using a new treatment utilising the patient’s own immune system to fight the cancer. Heat, freezing or an electric current is applied to the tumour, which causes the tumour to die without destroying the surrounding tissue. The treated tumour, left inside the body, is gradually resorbed by the body’s natural healing process.

Dr Onik took a year off from his residency with the help of funding from the National Cancer Institute and developed his signature tumour ablation technique, which he would refine and use throughout the rest of his career. His work was published and won prestigious awards from the major radiology societies for his groundbreaking approach.

One of Dr Onik’s most recent contributions to the field of cancer treatment has been as the physician-inventor, and one of the original patent holders, of the first of its kind non-thermal tumour ablation modality called Irreversible Electroporation or IRE.

IRE has been medically available as the Nanoknife® since 2010. Because it is a “non-thermal” modality, IRE can spare normal structures such as nerves and vessels, thereby decreasing the complications associated with cancer treatment. This powerful new technology, which holds great promise for new therapies for many cancers, is being used in some of the world’s most prominent cancer centers.

As the inventor of IRE for cancer therapy, Dr Onik is naturally the most knowledgeable and skilled physician in its use.