A review of high intensity focused ultrasound in relation to the treatment of renal tumours and other malignancies

•A review on clinical applications of HIFU for cancer treatment.•This review focuses on kidney and liver cancer.•A review on the technological and clinical development history of HIFU.•A brief summary on the mechanisms underline HIFU ablation. For 60years, high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) has been the subject of interest for medical research. HIFU causes tissue necrosis in a very well defined area, at a variable distance from the transducer, through heating or cavitation. Over the past two decades, the use of high-intensity focused ultrasound has been investigated in many clinical settings. This review summarises recent advances made in the field of renal cancer in particular, and gives an overview on the use of the extracorporeal machines in the treatment of other malignant tumours.