PROSTATE
CANCER CRYOTHERAPY
Cryosurgery Procedures
Focal Cryotherapy:
A New Treatment for Prostate Cancer
Focal cryosurgical ablation, or
nerve-sparing cryotherapy, is a procedure receiving
increased attention as it may provide improved
potency preservation rates. Clinical trials for
focal ablation are underway. The key to focal
cryotherapy is pinpointing the tumor. Focal cryotherapy
uses advanced targeting to destroy only a portion
of the prostate affected by prostate cancer.
With the now widespread use of prostate specific antigen (PSA) testing, a prostate cancer prognosis can be given in the early prostate cancer stages. This is beneficial to younger men diagnosed with prostate cancer who find watchful waiting unacceptable but are not ready for prostate cancer treatment options such as prostate cancer radiation treatment or a prostatectomy. Focal cryosurgery for prostate cancer is a compromise between the two choices.
Patients need to undergo a Power Color Doppler ultrasound and a biopsy to clearly identify the cancer location in the prostate. The Doppler ultrasound reads blood flow patterns inside the prostate. Cancer tissue normally shows a higher blood flow than normal tissue. The Doppler improves detection and tumor size measurement. This process will also help confirm the tumor has not penetrated nerves or blood vessels and is confined to the prostate.
Focal Cryotherapy Treatment Process
Focal cryotherapy ablation treatment, a minimally
invasive procedure, follows the same process as
normal cryoablation.
However, focal cryotherapy only freezes a portion
of the prostate as opposed to the entire prostate.
Focusing on only the affected area allows doctors
to help preserve other regions of the gland and
nerves, associated with potency, intact. Initial
evidence supports that most men receiving focal
cryosurgery remain potent and only a very small
percentage became incontinent. Impotency and incontinence
are widely considered the two most common complications
associated with any prostate cancer treatment.
The largest drawback to the use of focal
ablation treatment is the likelihood that the
solution is only temporary. Because focal cryosurgery
for prostate cancer treatments focus on a specific
area of the prostate, at least half of the prostate
will go untreated. This may allow for small, developing
tumors to go untreated. Any patients undergoing
focal cryotherapy will have intense follow-up
care to carefully monitor any changes. If
a tumor is found in the future, the patient will
have to undergo additional treatments. However,
the patient is able to enjoy an uninterrupted
quality of life from the first treatment to possible
further treatment.
Recovery from ablation treatment and
the time needed to keep a Foley catheter in place
after the procedure is a matter of just a few
days.
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