Targeted Treatment for Prostate Cancer Limits Side Effects
Targeted focal cryotherapy is an innovative treatment for prostate cancer that allows the surgeon to precisely target and destroy only the prostate tumors without harming the healthy parts of the prostate or surrounding nerves and tissue. Targeted focal cryotherapy prostate cancer treatment offers many advantages for men who are appropriate candidates, including no prostate cancer treatment side effects, such as urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction, which can occur with prostate surgery or radiation therapy for prostate cancer. Patients also experience faster recovery, less pain, and lower complication and infection rates.
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What is Targeted Focal Cryotherapy Prostate Cancer Treatment
How Targeted Focal Cryotherapy Works
Benefits of Targeted Focal Cryotherapy
Who is a Candidate for Targeted Focal Cryotherapy
Other Prostate Cancer Treatment Options
What is Targeted Focal Cryotherapy Prostate Cancer Treatment?
Targeted focal cryotherapy prostate cancer treatment is an innovative treatment for prostate cancer that offers an effective alternative to radical prostatectomy or radiation treatment. Similar to the way breast cancer patients can choose lumpectomy to remove just the breast cancer tumor instead of total mastectomy that removes the entire breast, targeted focal cryotherapy is a treatment for prostate cancer that removes just the prostate cancer tumors while leaving the healthy prostate intact. By removing just the cancer, targeted focal cryotherapy eliminates the risk of damaging nerves and causing prostate cancer treatment side effects, such as erectile dysfunction and urinary incontinence.
How Targeted Focal Cryotherapy Treatment for Prostate Cancer Works
Targeted focal cryotherapy prostate cancer treatment can be performed due to the data provided through an advanced 3D prostate cancer biopsy that maps the exact location and size of each prostate cancer tumor. (Prostate cancer like all cancers is not generally one “cancer” but rather clusters of cancerous cells that form multiple tumors within the prostate.) During this treatment for prostate cancer, the specially trained physician destroys each prostate cancer tumor by using gas to freeze the cells.
Targeted focal cryotherapy is performed in these steps:
- Using ultrasound guidance, the physician inserts tiny needles through the perineum, the area of skin between the scrotum and the anus, into the prostate.
- The physician uses the 3D computerized map of the prostate created during the 3D prostate cancer biopsy to locate the exact position of each tumor.
- Once the needle is in place, argon gas is introduced into the needle. When the gas reaches the point of the needle, it freezes the cancerous cells in the prostate to -40 degrees Celsius.
- Each tumor is thawed and refrozen at least twice during the procedure to tear the cancer cells apart and destroy them.
Benefits of Cryotherapy Prostate Cancer Treatment
Targeted focal cryotherapy prostate cancer treatment, also called targeted focal therapy, allows surgeons to precisely pinpoint prostate cancer tumors and destroy the cancerous cells through freezing. This technique preserves healthy prostate tissue and avoids injuring surrounding nerves and tissue.
When compared with traditional treatment options such as prostate surgery (radical prostatectomy) or radiation therapy for prostate cancer, patients who are treated with targeted focal cryotherapy for prostate cancer benefit from:
- Lower complication rates than patients who have prostate surgery or radiation therapy
- Very low infection rate and risk of transfusion
- Quicker recovery time
- Less post-procedure pain
- Virtually no prostate cancer treatment side effects, such as urinary incontinence, erectile dysfunction, or fecal incontinence, that can be caused by prostate surgery or radiation therapy
Candidates for Targeted Focal Cryotherapy Prostate Cancer Treatment
The decision about prostate cancer treatment is a personal one. Based on PSA levels, biopsy results, risk factors, and overall health, we work with each patient to develop a customized prostate health evaluation. We want to be sure to provide the most effective treatment for you and to educate each patient about the role of overall health, including weight management, activity level, and other lifestyle choices, in treatment outcomes.
Many men who come to Precision Prostate Cancer Center after a high PSA level or a conventional core biopsy are seeking a second opinion and additional information before they decide on a treatment option. The 3D prostate cancer biopsy can provide that information by not just confirming the diagnosis, but by accurately detecting the size, location, and number of tumors.
Recommendation for treatment, including targeted focal cryotherapy, depends on many factors that are individual to each man. However, in general, a man is considered a viable candidate for targeted focal cryotherapy prostate cancer treatment if the advanced 3D mapping prostate cancer biopsy finds that:
- the total volume of prostate cancer tumors is less than 30 percent of total prostate volume
- the prostate cancer tumors are confined within the prostate
- the prostate cancer tumors are a safe distance from vital organs, such as the urethra and rectum
Based on results to date, about 40 percent of men who have a 3D prostate cancer biopsy can be treated with targeted focal cryotherapy prostate cancer treatment. For men whose cancer is more or less severe, we recommend other appropriate treatment options such as active surveillance, radiation therapy for prostate cancer, or prostate surgery.
Recovery After Targeted Focal Cryotherapy Prostate Cancer Treatment
Qualified patients undergoing targeted focal cryotherapy prostate cancer treatment are typically treated in about two hours and are able to go home the same day. The majority of our patients resume their daily activities within 24 hours. In our 12 years of conducting this procedure, none of our patients has developed any prostate cancer treatment side effects such as urinary incontinence or rectal injury (although a small risk for this injury still exists). And nearly 80 percent of our patients recovered the level of sexual activity they had before the operation within three to six months after treatment. (The ability of a patient to recover is strongly dependent on the cancer location in proximity to the erectile nerves.) A structured follow-up schedule and specialized counseling in diet and lifestyle complement this approach.
Results and Outcomes of Targeted Focal Cryotherapy Prostate Cancer Treatment
About 40 percent of patients who receive a 3D prostate cancer biopsy will quality for targeted focal cryotherapy prostate cancer treatment, which targets only the cancer cells in the prostate. While long-term results for targeted focal cryotherapy prostate cancer treatment are not yet available because the technique has only been available since 2006, so far our results have been very positive. Our failure rate in properly selected patients is less than 10 percent. The majority of our patients experience minimal side effects and are maintaining potency and urinary continence.
Other Prostate Cancer Treatment Options
If either a traditional or advanced 3D prostate cancer biopsy confirms a diagnosis of prostate cancer, it’s time to have a discussion with a urologist about your treatment options. Before making a decision, you’ll want to understand the stage of your cancer and your Gleason score, both of which can help physicians predict how quickly or aggressively your cancer might progress. Depending on those assessments, your doctor might recommend a range of treatment options including:
- Active surveillance. Sometimes called “watchful waiting,” this option is most appropriate for older men and those with very slow-growing cancers. It involves monitoring PSA levels closely and conducting periodic biopsies to see if cancer has grown or spread. We suggest all patients who want to consider active surveillance undergo an advanced 3D prostate cancer biopsy to ensure an accurate diagnosis.
- Radiation therapy. There are two common types of radiation treatment for prostate cancer. In external beam radiation therapy, high-energy rays are focused on the prostate gland in an effort to kill early-stage cancerous cells, and spare healthy cells. With prostate brachytherapy, radioactive “seeds”—each about the size of a grain of rice—are inserted directly into the prostate. Both types of radiation therapy can cause side effects such as urinary incontinence or erectile dysfunction.
- Prostate cancer surgery. Radical prostatectomy, also performed as robotic prostate surgery, is the most common treatment recommendation for men whose cancer is still confined to the prostate gland. During prostate surgery, the entire prostate and some surrounding tissue is removed. While prostatectomy is an effective treatment for many men, it can result in side effects including urinary incontinence and sexual impotence or erectile dysfunction.
Become a patient
At Precision Prostate Cancer Center, we are here to provide a second opinion and peace of mind to men facing a prostate cancer diagnosis. Whether you have a high PSA, a positive biopsy, or are just concerned about your prostate cancer risk, we can help. Through a customized evaluation and, if needed, a 3D prostate cancer biopsy, we can more accurately determine the best treatment option for you and evaluate if you’re a candidate for targeted focal cryotherapy prostate cancer treatment, a prostate cancer treatment that can help preserve your prostate and your quality of life.
To learn more, schedule a free phone consultation or learn more about becoming a patient.
