Medical

Ultrasound destroys 80 percent of prostate cancers in one-year study

Ultrasound destroys 80 percent of prostate cancers in one-year study
Scientists are reporting promising results from a year-long study where soundwaves were used to heat and destroy prosta
Scientists are reporting promising results from a year-long study where soundwaves were used to heat and destroy prostate cancers
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TULSA uses a rod inserted into the prostate to target diseased tissue with soundwaves
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TULSA uses a rod inserted into the prostate to target diseased tissue with soundwaves
Scientists are reporting promising results from a year-long study where soundwaves were used to heat and destroy prosta
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Scientists are reporting promising results from a year-long study where soundwaves were used to heat and destroy prostate cancers

Treating prostate cancer through traditional means such as surgery or radiotherapy carries certain risks, with some patients experiencing impotence, urinary problems and bowel trouble, among other unwanted side effects. Safer and less invasive treatment options could soon be on the table, however, including a novel MRI-guided ultrasound technique that eliminated significant cancers in 80 percent of subjects in a year-long study.

The new technique is called MRI-guided transurethral ultrasound ablation (TULSA) and has been under development for a number of years. The minimally invasive technology involves a rod that enters the prostate gland via the urethra and emits highly controlled sound waves in order to heat and destroy diseased tissue, while leaving healthy tissue unharmed.

These waves come from 10 heating elements built into the length of the rod to treat the entire prostate gland. An algorithm controls which of these elements emit the sound waves at any one time, along with their shape, direction and strength. All of this takes place within an MRI scanner, allowing doctors to keep a close eye on which tissues are being heated and by how much.

TULSA uses a rod inserted into the prostate to target diseased tissue with soundwaves
TULSA uses a rod inserted into the prostate to target diseased tissue with soundwaves

"Unlike with other ultrasound systems on the market, you can monitor the ultrasound ablation process in real time and get immediate MRI feedback of the thermal dose and efficacy," says study co-auhor Steven S. Raman, M.D., professor of radiology and urology at the University of California at Los Angeles. "It's an outpatient procedure with minimal recovery time."

Raman and his team recently put TULSA to the test in a study involving 115 men with low- or intermediate-risk prostate cancer that was confined to the gland. The TULSA treatment was administered to the whole gland for an average time of 51 minutes, with the cancers then reassessed 12 months later.

These follow-up observations revealed some hugely promising results. “Clinically significant cancer” was totally eliminated in 80 percent of the subjects a year after the TULSA treatment. Sixty-five percent of the subjects exhibited no evidence of cancer at all in their biopsies, while prostate-specific antigen (PSA), the key biomarker for prostate cancer, was reduced by a median of 95 percent.

No bowel complications were reported, while the group reported low rates of severe toxicity, low rates of impotence and close to no incontinence (involuntary urine loss from the bladder). Additionally, the technique can be used to treat other benign conditions, such as prostate enlargement.

"There are two very unique things about this system," says Raman. "First, you can control with much more finesse where you're going to treat, preserving continence and sexual function. Second, you can do this for both diffuse and localized prostate cancer and benign diseases, including benign hyperplasia."

The scientists are now working towards further studies to support these exciting results. With TULSA already approved for clinical use in Europe, and having recently received FDA pre-market clearance as safe and effective for prostate treatment in the US, the hope is that it could reach clinical use stateside in the near future.

The scientists presented the research results at this week’s annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America. An abstract is available online here, while the animation below offers a look at TULSA in action.

Novel ultrasound treatment for prostate cancer

Source: Radiological Society of North America

6 comments
6 comments
CAVUMark
Hope it is a general anesthesia.
guzmanchinky
Did anyone else see that animation and think of that James Bond scene with the laser? This technology might help me someday, I have one that's slightly enlarged, and I'm 50, so hopefully I can use this in the future...
Bruce H. Anderson
Maybe this could also be used farther up the urinary tract to treat bladder cancer.
Mickey Masker
How is this different from a procedure I have been reading about called HiFu? (High intensity focused ultrasound)
John Otvos
There’s no free lunch here by treating any disease, let alone pc with some form of invasive therapy. Nerves do get damaged. Cells are set on fire and left to die. In order to reach a man’s doughnut, the treatment regime must pass through many layers of cellular tissue to ‘hit’ the target area.

Our healthcare system, whether here in Canada, or stateside, is really about disease management. Far better to stop it before it begins. How? Through a whole foods plant-based lifestyle and diet. None of these major killers of western societies was so prevalent in the early 1900s. Asia did not have them either, ’til they adopted our dietary regimen of highly processed foodstuffs, meat, dairy and junk food.

andsoitgoes…
noteugene
I agree with John Otvos. Problem is I'm too lazy to cook. A nuke machine is my favorite gadget. Wish they had came out with this technique a little sooner. My dad died 4 yrs ago by pancreas cancer. Heartbreaking to watch him be destroyed over a 5-6 yr period. A Nurse said that I would die the same way as that it was genetic. And this comment was made without even testing me. I thought the unsolicited comment uncalled for, even callous. Truthfully, I'm still ticked off about it.