Doctors from Alfred Hospital are working on a new technique to treat tumors. The new technique involves using a precisely targeted electric "zap" to kill tumours. In this technique two thin needles are inserted into the body to surrounding the tumour then 90 pulses of high-voltage electricity is passed through the tumour over 45 seconds.

In animal models, the technique could successfully destroy tumours within a fortnight with little or no damage. The new technique is presently tested on patients with liver and kidney cancer. While using the new technique, the patients needed to be sedated at the time because otherwise the shock would "jump them off the table".

The Alfred’s professor of radiology, Ken Thomson, said that the team has so far treated two liver cancers and Mr Monaghan's kidney cancer with the technique. All three struck no safety issues, and a follow-up on one liver cancer patient after two weeks showed the tumour "had just about disappeared"

He added that he was extremely excited about the potential for removing tumours that would previously have needed risky surgery and left the patient weak and in pain.

He admitted that it was too early to announce a cure, but insisted that the results so far were very promising.