RADICAL PROSTATECTOMY AFTER HIFU

HIFU (High intensity Frequency Ultrasound) is emerging as a possible alternative treatment for localized prostate cancer. It is already being used in Europe and Japan and is undergoing clinical trials in the USA.

To date, HIFU is being used as a treatment for locaized prostate cancer and as a secondary treatment after failed external radiotherapy.

HIFU is a non-invasive treatment that can be used more than once on the same patient.

The issue of how to treat local recurrence of prostate cancer after an initial treatment is a subject of much study.

One recent study looked at a very small number of patients who had local recurrence after either a HIFU procedure or radiotherapy treatment. The object of the study was to determine if  a salvage endoscopic extraperitoneal radical prostatectomy would be effective.

There were 9 patients in the study, 3 of whom had a local recurrence of prostate cancer following a HIFU procedure.

The study showed that salvage endoscopic extraperitoneal radical prostatectomy   (EERPE)  is a safe and efficient method to treat locally recurrent prostate cancer. The short term oncologic and functional outcomes were positive, but further investigations need to be done to determine the long term oncologic outcomes of this technique.