Ultrasound Ablation Offers Option for Some With Prostate Cancer

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 16, 2020 (HealthDay News) — For men with localized prostate cancer, hemigland high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) ablation is associated with 73 percent two-year survival free from treatment failure and 91 percent survival free from radical treatment, according to a study published in the October issue of The Journal of Urology.

Andre Luis Abreu, M.D., from the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, and colleagues reported outcomes of hemigland HIFU ablation as primary treatment in 100 men with localized prostate cancer. The patients had very low-, low-, intermediate favorable-, intermediate unfavorable-, and high-risk prostate cancer (8, 20, 50, 17, and 5 percent, respectively).

The researchers found that patients were followed for a median of 20 months, with 73, 76, 90, and 91 percent two-year survival free from treatment failure, Grade Group 2 or greater recurrence, repeat focal HIFU, and radical treatment, respectively. The sole predictor for Grade Group 2 or greater recurrence was bilateral prostate cancer at diagnosis. Of the 58 men who underwent posttreatment biopsy, 10 and eight, respectively, had in-field and out-of-field Grade Group 2 or greater positive biopsy. One hundred percent of patients maintained continence.

“This positive data empowers urologists to use focal HIFU ablation to effectively address prostate cancer without the intrinsic side effects of radical treatments,” Abreu said in a statement.

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