PROSTATE
CANCER CRYOTHERAPY
Cryosurgery Procedures
Prostate Cancer Salvage
Cryotherapy Treatment
Patients who have undergone prostate
cancer radiation therapy or another treatment
for prostate cancer and have experienced a recurrence
are left with limited treatment options. The patient
may opt for a radical prostatectomy that will
risk significant side effects or hormone therapy
that will reduce the size of the tumor but not
offer a cure. Salvage cryotherapy ablation treatment,
a minimally invasive procedure, stands as the
best option for prostate cancer recurrence patients.
Cryosurgery
in prostate cancer offers a treatment for prostate
cancer with fewer side effects than a prostatectomy.
Patients who do not achieve a low PSA level or
experience rising PSA levels after initial prostate
cancer treatments may be candidates for salvage
cryotherapy.
Who’s Suitable for Prostate Cancer Salvage Cryotherapy?
It is essential that salvage prostate cryoablation
treatment patients be carefully selected. It is
commonly recommended that men with a life expectancy
of more than 10 years be considered for salvage
prostate cryosurgery. Prostate cancer recurrence
patients are only eligible for salvage cryosurgery
for prostate cancer if there is a near certainty
that the prostate cancer radiation therapy failed
due to persistent local cancer and not because
of metastatic stages. If the cancer has reached
the metastatic prostate cancer stages, cryosurgical
ablation treatments will be ineffective.
Who’s Not Suitable for Salvage Prostate Cancer Cryosurgery?
Patients with a life expectancy of less than 10 years are commonly given hormone therapy to help control the size of the prostate or watchful waiting prostate cancer treatment options. Patients who are at high-risk for complications or failure include those who underwent a previous transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP). Radiation failure patients who have undergone prior TURP should not be considered candidates for cryotherapy unless they are willing to accept the significant risk of total urinary incontinence.
What to Expect Before, During,
and After the Cryotherapy Procedure
The process of salvage cryotherapy ablation treatment
is similar to primary cryotherapy treatment, with
only minor differences. After radiation therapy,
tissue around the prostate is affected and has
limited healing ability. To prevent further damage,
cryosurgery freezing must be stopped once the
edge of the iceball has reached the capsule of
the prostate. As a result, the target temperature
of negative 40 degrees Celsius may not be reached.
In patients who had previously undergone brachytherapy,
the seeded radiotherapy and the cryoprobe are
difficult to distinguish in an ultrasound. Therefore,
probe placing is slightly challenged. But if the
physician uses a longitudinal view, the length
of the cryoablation
needle can be easily distinguished from the
seeds.
Salvage cryoablation has been proven to be just as effective as salvage prostatectomy, with notable reductions in rectal injury and incontinence. However, cryotherapy treatment side effects are slightly more common in salvage cryotherapy than primary cases.
For salvage cryosurgery results for
prostate cancer, see Cryotherapy
Treatment Success Rates.
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