HIFU: Wave of the Future?

Dr. George Suarez, a Miami urologist, is unabashed in his enthusiasm for high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU), the use of ultrasound waves energy to destroy cancerous prostate cells. But not all urologists share in his excitement, and many express skepticism whether the benefits outweigh the risks. Dr. Peter Scardino, a urologist and chair of the Department of Surgery at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, is one of them. “When I look at the results of HIFU for prostate cancer—which has been used in Europe for the last 15 years—what I see is cancer control rates that are no better than radiation …

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HIFU in UK

Keep your pecker up, Bill…new prostate cancer zapper won’t wreck your love life! Pioneering soundwave treatment proves as effective as surgery. • High-intensity focused ultrasound blasts tumours with soundwaves • Study shows its 93 per cent success rate as effective as surgery • But rate of erectile dysfunction in HIFU patients post treatment much lower • ‘Experimental’ treatment not widely available in UK and costs £10,000 Read the article.

Salvage HIFU for biopsy confirmed local prostate cancer recurrence after radical prostatectomy and radiation therapy

High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is a treatment option for low- and intermediate-risk prostate cancer and more recently has been used as salvage therapy after failed radiation therapy. The article presents a case of local recurrence with biochemical failure after radical prostatectomy and salvage external beam radiation therapy with salvage HIFU without biochemical recurrence at 20 months. Read the article.

Single High Intensity Focused Ultrasound Session as a Whole Gland Primary Treatment for Clinically Localized Prostate Cancer: 10-Year Outcomes

Objectives. To assess the treatment outcomes of a single session of whole gland high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) for patients with localized prostate cancer (PCa). Methods. Response rates were defined using the Stuttgart and Phoenix criteria. Complications were graded according to the Clavien score. Results. At a median follow-up of 94months, 48 (44.4%) and 50 (46.3%) patients experienced biochemical recurrence for Phoenix and Stuttgart definition, respectively. The 5- and 10-year actuarial biochemical recurrence free survival rates were 57% and 40%, respectively. The 10-year overall survival rate, cancer specific survival rate, and metastasis free survival rate were 72%, 90%, and 70%, …

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Prostate Cancer Outcomes Good with HIFU

High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is a potentially effective treatment of localized prostate cancer (PCa) that is associated with a low PCa-specific mortality rate, according to researchers. It also is associated with a high metastasis-free survival rate (MFSR) at 10 years. Read the article.

Focal HIFU

It is hoped the new treatment, which involves heating only the tumours with a highly focused ultrasound, will mean men can be treated without an overnight stay in hospital and avoiding the distressing side effects associated with current therapies. Read more.

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