A non-invasive technique that destroys cancerous tissue using various energy sources. HIFU treatment uses ultrasonic energy, or sound waves, to heat and destroy specific areas of prostate tissue. Cryotherapy uses cold for the same purpose.
Focal therapy for prostate cancer is a non-invasive, radiation-free technique that uses different types of energy to destroy the area of the prostate gland affected by cancer. Small amounts of tissue can be removed with a few millimeters of precision; this is called focal therapy.
Advantages of focal therapy
- It only requires a short hospital stay; usually, the patient can go home on the same day as their treatment.
- The recovery time is short.
- It does not involve major surgery.
- It is possible to receive further targeted treatment if your cancer recurs. It can also be treated with surgery or radiation therapy.
- Focal therapy treats only the portion of the prostate containing significant areas of cancer, thus eliminating any active cancerous tissue. This approach has fewer side effects, improving the patient's quality of life compared to more radical treatments such as radical prostatectomy or radiotherapy, which can lead to urinary or sexual problems.
Disadvantages
- Focal therapy is only available in specialized centers.
- As it is a new technology, we don't know much about its long-term function (after 10 years).
- As with other treatments, it has side effects such as bleeding when urinating, urinary retention, which are temporary during the first few days after the procedure.
Can all patients receive focal therapy?
The criteria vary depending on the patient's characteristics. Generally, it may be appropriate for cases where the cancer is contained within the prostate (localized). Focal treatments can also be performed to treat cancer that has recurred after radiotherapy (recurrent prostate cancer). This is called salvage focal therapy.
Available energies or focal therapy methods
As previously mentioned, the basis of focal therapy is to direct energy to a tumor focus. The available energies are:
- HIFU (high-intensity focused ultrasound)
- Cryotherapy
- Irreversible electroporation.
- Photodynamic therapy, laser and others.
The high level of specialization of our team allows them to have extensive experience, reflected in numerous publications on focal therapy in the management of prostate cancer. Some of our publications are listed below:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33439577/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32786087/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32748617/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30855018/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33025917/
