Because treatment of the whole prostate can lead to long-term side effects in patients with prostate cancer, interest in minimally invasive, focal treatment options has been growing for certain patients.

A clinical trial published in BJU International generated promising results for a type of focal therapy, which directly targets the cancer and spares the remainder of the unaffected prostate gland.

The ProFocal Laser Therapy for Prostate Tissue Ablation (PFLT-PC) trial is the first pivotal trial of ProFocal®, a novel, cooled laser focal therapy device for prostate cancer treatment.

In the 100-participant trial, 84% of patients had no clinically significant prostate cancer on their 3-month post-treatment biopsy.

The treatment provided similar cancer-related outcomes to those that have been reported for other focal therapy devices, but with an improved safety profile and low rates of incontinence.

“This new technology is very promising with excellent cancer control while preserving patients’ quality of life,” said corresponding author Jonathan Kam, MD, of Nepean Hospital, in Australia.

“Traditional radical prostatectomy and radiotherapy for prostate cancer results in very high rates of incontinence and erectile dysfunction. With this new technology, patients can have their prostate cancer treated with very low risk of suffering the side effects associated with traditional prostate cancer treatments.”

Source: Wiley