Focal Therapy for Prostate Cancer

The standard treatment options for prostate cancer typically involve either surgical removal of the entire prostate (radical prostatectomy) or administration of radiation therapy to the whole prostate. These radical treatments may thus be associated with damage to adjacent critical structures, such as external urinary sphincter (muscle responsible for voluntary urine control) and/or the nerves responsible for rigidity of the penis (erection). Consequently, patients might experience problems of urinary control (urinary incontinence) or erection (impotence). Although these issues tend to improve in most men within a year after the procedure, however, 5–15% men may continue to experience long term urinary incontinence and 30–65% previously potent men may complaint of impotence. Focal therapy for prostate cancer treats only the area with the most aggressive tumor (referred to as index lesion) while leaving the rest of the prostate and its surrounding structures (nerves for erection and sphincter for urinary control) intact. Focal therapy has the potential to cure certain men with localized prostate cancer while sparing them of the side effects of whole gland treatment modalities (surgery/radiation).