Innovative treatment options that preserve the prostate gland
High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) provides clinicians with more treatment options for prostate cancer using concentrated ultrasound to destroy tumor cells, while improving localization of the disease and preserving healthy surrounding tissues.
Focal One® is a medical device designed specifically for the treatment of prostate cancer. Treatment combines innovative targeting technology with image guided fusion software. The treating urologist will utilize 3D images of the prostate to draw a precise contour around the affected tissue, customizing the procedure for each patient’s clinical condition. This approach is proven to reduce side effects by avoiding the healthy areas of the prostate thereby improving recovery.
Managing Early-stage Prostate Cancer
There are 3 ways to manage prostate cancer. One is called active surveillance (watchful waiting) which gives the patient and the doctor more time to assess the progression of the disease. Because prostate cancer is slow growing, it may not have a significant impact on the well-being of some men nor for the remainder of their lifetime. If cancer is detected in the prostate, biopsy results will indicate where cancer may be present. HIFU for prostate cancer is designed to treat the affected portion of the prostate before cancer has developed further into late-stage.
When more significant treatment is recommended, it may include surgery or radiotherapy, and sometimes both. These treatments tend to be a final procedure, where treatment is designed to eliminate the progression of cancer cells. Recent innovations, such as robotic surgery for the prostate, reduce recovery time while retaining function, but can still produce some side effects. Other advancements exist in radiotherapy devices, which have vastly improved treatment delivery methods and clinical outcomes.
Minimally Invasive, Non-surgical, Targeted Treatment
HIFU treatment is an additional treatment option for men that will bridge the gap between active surveillance and significant treatments, such as a radical prostatectomy (removal of the prostate gland using surgery). HIFU Focal One® treatment consists of an ultrasonic probe which scans the entire prostate structure from within the rectum then focuses sound waves at only the cancerous portion of the prostate.
Sound waves are conducted into a small point which creates heat and destroys the targeted tissue, causing the cancer cells to wither over time. Treatment is delivered without damaging the healthy surrounding structures, which include nerves, blood vessels, and other soft tissues, which are important to maintain bladder control and erectile function.
There is no surgery with Focal One HIFU Therapy.
Everything You Wanted to Learn about HIFU: Focal One Therapy
Men’s Health Expert’s at Saint John’s explain HIFU treatment using Focal One.
HIFU Focal One®: Effective for early-stage prostate cancer
HIFU therapy is a newer treatment option that received market clearance in June, 2018. More than 45,000 men around the world with localized prostate cancer have received the HIFU procedure, which has demonstrated its effectiveness to reduce the need for further treatments. In Europe, where the first generation HIFU system originated and was used for whole prostate treatment, researchers published many peer-reviewed studies of the use of HIFU for whole gland ablation with positive results. Prostate Cancer treatment is considered “focal” when a part of the gland is spared from treatment.
Although focal HIFU treatment is available for localized prostate cancers, studies in Europe have demonstrated its’ safety and efficacy. In 2013, the Journal of Urology published a German study of 704 patients treated with HIFU, in which co-investigators concluded that long-term follow-up with HIFU therapy demonstrated a high overall rate of cancer specific survival (99%) and 10-year salvage treatment-free, meaning these patients did not require additional treatment for cancer after 10 years. Urologic surgeons in the US typically seek at least 10 years of data to establish focal HIFU therapy as a standard treatment.
111 Patients Treated with HIFU |
|
|---|---|
| 95% | Absence of Clinically Significant Cancer |
| 89% | Radical Treatment-free Survival |
| 97% | Continence Preservation |
| 78% | Erectile Function Preservation |
Long-term studies and clinical data are not yet available, and this therapy is only appropriate for select prostate cancers. However, the arrival of the Focal One® treatment system, by EDAP TMS, is significant because of the degree of precision with which the cancer can be treated in the prostate, sparing healthy tissue and reducing side-effects of treatment. The advantage of HIFU is in how recurrence is managed. If cancer returns, patients can repeat the HIFU procedure or choose to undergo surgery or radiation. In other words, HIFU does not preclude a secondary treatment, whereas the two conventional treatments, surgery and radiation, if unsuccessful, cannot be repeated.
Our Primary Goal is Cancer Cure
Overcoming cancer is our goal. Also critically important is how your recovery is measured, such as with the level of post-treatment incontinence or erectile function. Therefore, the treatment plan will consider the most optimal delivery of focused ultrasound so that side effects are always minimized. HIFU is a reliable treatment option for prostate cancer because it relies on first-hand visualization and real-time data.
In order for HIFU to be recommended, testing, imaging scans, and a definitive diagnosis are required. Patients are made to be as comfortable as possible prior to the procedure, and under most circumstances, placed under general anesthesia. This is important because the prostate can be treated more effectively if it is completely stationary. The HIFU procedure can take up to 4 hours, while some treatments may be completed in just in 60 minutes. The Providence Saint John’s Health Center is one of only 87 HIFU authorized centers in the US.
We are Ready to Support You
Like many treatments for prostate cancer, we know you have questions. Treatment can be a life-changing endeavor that can alter how the body functions. Our duty is to guide you or your family member through this process and make sure you are 100% comfortable with our recommendations.
Call our office today and learn more about this innovative procedure and our highly experienced urologists. HIFU is a safe and effective procedure that has helped to improve clinical outcomes and quality-of-life for many of our patients.
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If you have questions about the HIFU procedure or Focal One®, please call today.Click here to request an appointment.
ABOUT EDAP TMS, FOCAL ONE® TREATMENT SYSTEM
The Focal One® HIFU device is the first medical apparatus designed specifically for focal treatment of Prostate Cancer. It has been developed with the last evolutions of HIFU technology and imaging fusion software to answer all the specificities of prostate cancer focal treatment.
By combining imaging and treatment technologies, Focal One® brings together the most ideal requirements for focal therapy including, accurate and MR-fused imaging, precise and efficient therapeutic HIFU energy, treatment validation imaging, all within a non-invasive approach.
Benefits of Focal One® treatment
- Precise treatment delivery to the tumor site
- Preservation of the patient’s quality of life
- Possibility to perform any other treatment if needed after Focal One® treatment