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25 February 2010 Focal therapy may be the future for prostate cancer
Going back in history we can see that most of the research regarding to the early stage treatment of prostate cancer has been focused on the two above categories, evaluating only related things such as: how to do the prostatectomy; how much radiation, and of which type; how to monitor patients instead of treating them; etc. Researchers started to explore the possibilities of "focal therapy" as an option of treatment for localized prostate cancer after 2005. Focal therapy aims to find a middle ground between surveillance and radical therapies by treating the cancer alone, with a margin, and preserving as much tissue as is practical. Thus, "hemiablative" techniques, in which one lobe of the prostate is frozen or treated in some other way, have, to date, not uncommonly been associated with biochemical disease recurrence, when cancer left (unidentified) in the untreated lobe of the prostate continues to grow. Besides cryosurgery, new therapies has been proposed, such as brachytherapy, high intensity focused ultrasound, and photodynamic therapy. Early feasibility studies related to focal therapy have demonstrated an absence of rectal toxicity and preservation of genitourinary function in 80-90% of men. They also revealed that the incidence of prostate cancer risk is conjuncturally rising only in informal and formal prostate-specific antigen screening practices. Statistic shows that the treatment burden from radical therapies is high with over 50% of men suffering genitourinary or rectal toxicity, while watchful waiting carries surveillance and psychological burden with risk of progression. A scientific team at University College London, UK, has now published an article outlining the need for an international research strategy which could be used to evaluate focal therapy over time. According to which should be "pragmatic" in nature and include the use of focal therapies in a broad spectrum of patient types. Experts agree that within the focal therapy framework there exists a unique opportunity to undertake landmark diagnostic studies incorporating imaging techniques and biomarkers in addition to studies directed at the biology of prostate cancer over time. NOTE: Issues on this site regarding prostate cancer and treatment options, are provided for information only, and are not meant to substitute for the advice of your own physician or other medical professional. Prostate-Report.org does not endorse any specific product, service or treatment. |
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