HIFU Effective for Long-Term Prostate Cancer Control

High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU), a minimally invasive treatment for localized prostate cancer, achieves effective long-term disease control in patients with low- and intermediate-risk tumors, according to researchers in France and Germany.

The investigators studied 140 patients (mean age 69 years) with T1-T2 NxM0 prostate cancer, a PSA level less than 15 ng/mL, and a Gleason score of 7 or less.

These patients were treated with prototypes or first-generation Ablatherm HIFU devices between October 1997 and August 2001. The actuarial biochemical failure-free survival rates at five and seven years were 77% and 69%, respectively. The actuarial disease-free survival rates were 66% and 59%, respectively.

Findings appear in European Urology (2008;53:1194-1203).