What is the role of focal therapy in low-risk prostate cancer?
May 18th, 2010 Posted in prostate cancerA recent study aimed to review the rationale, patient selection criteria, diagnostic imaging, biopsy schemes, and treatment modalities available for the focal therapy of localized prostate cancer.
Limitations of focal therapy include the inability to stage or grade the cancer(s) accurately, suboptimal imaging capabilities, uncertainty regarding the natural history of untreated cancer foci, challenges with post-treatment monitoring, and the lack of quality-of-life data compared with alternative treatment strategies.
One of the conclusions of the study is that focal therapy for prostate cancer is a promising and emerging treatment strategy for men with a low risk of cancer progression or metastasis. Evaluation in formal prospective clinical trials is essential before this new strategy is accepted in clinical practice.
The study will be published in the July issue of European Urology, the scientific journal of the European Association of Urology (EAU).