prostate-report.org

Post-treatment pathology of the prostate after first-line HIFU

High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) treatment is a novel minimally invasive therapeutic option for patients with localized prostate cancer. Little is known about the histological findings in prostate biopsies upon HIFU treatment. One of the unknown factors in the use of HIFU for the first-line treatment of prostate cancer is the potential for high-quality, biochemical recurrence-free survival over time. Post-treatment histopathology may offer some insight into the likelihood of good outcomes.

A research team. has recently reported data on the histopathology of tissue from 25 patients who underwent prostate biopsies after first-line treatment with HIFU. All biopsies were carried out at 180 days after initial HIFU therapy.

The authors, as pathologists, conclude only that their pathology colleagues “should be aware of common histologic findings in prostatic biopsies after HIFU treatment.” They also recommend “routine reporting of Gleason scores in post-HIFU needle biopsies.”

However, this is a very small study and more data will be needed to make a compelling case for (or indeed against) HIFU as an appropriate form of first-line therapy for prostate cancer in any but the most carefully selected patients.