Results and side effects of high-intensity focused ultrasound in localized prostate cancer.

At the time of diagnosis, prostate cancer is organ confined in 70% of the cases. A quarter of these patients undergo local therapy (surgery/radiation); 75% risk disease progression by "watchful waiting" or systemic side effects through hormonal ablation. Local high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU), as minimal invasive tissue coagulation (85 degrees C), ablates prostatic tissue with high precision. Since April 1996, 184 patients have undergone 232 sessions of transrectal HIFU therapy (average 90 min) under spinal anesthesia at 2.25/3.0 MHz, 50 W, and a penetration depth of 25 mm. The follow-up serum prostate specific antigen (PSA) concentration, sextant biopsies, International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), quality of life measures (QoL), and complaint registration provide the foundation for this clinical evaluation. Follow-up sextant biopsies (an average of 1.9) showed 80% of the patients to be cancer free. In men with residual cancer, the tumor mass was reduced more than 90%. The PSA nadir in 97% was <4 ng/mL, including 61% with values <0.5 ng/mL. After primary HIFU, no severe side effects (fistula, second or third grade incontinence, rectal mucosal burns) occurred. All patients had a suprapubic tube (average 29 days), and 33% needed a transurethral debris resection averaging 7 g. They were discharged within 23 hours. According to the short-term follow-up transrectal HIFU enables minimal invasive local prostate tissue ablation with high rates of negative biopsies, low PSA nadir, and low complication rate.