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Sound waves tackle prostate cancer
An experimental new treatment that uses high intensity sound waves to heat and destroy prostate cancer cells has proved effective and has fewer side effects than other conventional therapies, according to a UK study published in the British Journal of Cancer
Every year 34,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer in the UK. In many cases the cancer is slow growing and may not require treatment, but some men will develop more aggressive type that can spread to other parts of the body.
The new treatment, known as High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU), is suitable for men who have early stage disease which has not spread beyond the prostate. These patients are conventionally offered either active surveillance, (when the growth of the cancer is monitored) or more an operation called radical prostatectomy to remove the gland altogether
During the HIFU procedure which can take a few hours, the patient is given a general anaesthetic or an epidural. High frequency sound waves are focused on the prostate, via a probe that is inserted into the rectum.
Scientists at University College (UCL) and Princess Grace hospitals in London treated 172 men with localised prostate cancer with HIFU. One year later 92 per cent of the men treated with HIFU were clear of the disease. They also experienced few side effects from the treatment. Less than one per cent suffered incontinence, none experienced bowel problems and 30 to 40 percent had impotence. Traditional treatments (surgery and radiotherapy) usually result in 50 per cent of patients suffering impotence and five to 20 per cent incontinence.
‘This study suggests it’s possible that HIFU may one day play a role in treating men with early prostate cancer with fewer side effects,’ said Dr Hashim Ahmed from UCL who ran the trial. ‘But we don’t yet know for sure if HIFU is more effective than traditional treatments so it will be important to carry out further studies involving a larger number of patients followed over a longer period of time to truly compare the long term effectiveness of this treatment.’
John Neate, Chief Executive at The Prostate Cancer Charity, welcomes the research but agrees that there is some way to go before men could be routinely offered the new treatment.
"HIFU potentially offers a ‘third way’ approach to the treatment of localised prostate cancer - lying between radical treatment, for example, surgery and radiotherapy, that targets the whole gland, with the potential for damage to surrounding healthy tissue, and active surveillance that avoids this damage, but can leave a man coping with the anxiety of an untreated disease.
"As HIFU is a new technology longer term trials are necessary. HIFU will not be the answer to everything in prostate cancer treatment, but when long term data emerges from this research, and from other studies elsewhere, it will become clearer exactly what role HIFU can play in the available armoury of treatments for fighting prostate cancer."
The Prostate Cancer Charity www.prostate-cancer.org.uk
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Information on this site is for interest only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. You should consult your own doctor about any specific health concerns.
