Member Comments are provided by individuals and reflect their personal opinions only. Under NO circumstances should you act on any advice or opinion posted in this forum. ALWAYS check with your personal physician before taking any action regarding your health! MedHelp International and our partners, sponsors and affiliates have no obligation to monitor any comments posted on this site, or the content and/or accuracy of such exchanges. MedHelp International does not endorse the views of any user.
Urology Community
This patient support community is for discussions relating to urology issues, benign prostate disease, penis curvature, cystisis, kidney stones, pediatric urology, prostate, sexual dysfunction, urinary tract infections, and urological cancers.
cryosurgery studies for reocurrent prostate ca
by greensboro, Jun 11, 2008 10:46AM
Are there any current published studies on the long-term efficacy of cryosurgery on recurrent prostate cancer? I had brachytherapy for prostate surgery 2 years ago and for the past 6 months have had PSA scores that have jumped around from a low of approx 1.7 to a high of 2.7. It may be 'bounce' related but my urologist is already mentioning the future possibility of cyrosurgery and I'd like to see what recent studies may have to say about it's effectiveness in eradicating the cancer as well as the resultant morbidity issues associated with the procedure. Or if there are better possible procedures out there now, I'd be interested in studying up on them.
Post Comment
How are you? Cryosurgery also called cryoablation, destroys cancer cells by twice rapidly freezing and thawing cancerous tissue. Recent studies show that 97% of cryosurgery patients are cancer free at 1 year and 82% are cancer free at 5 years following surgery. Cryosurgery usually can be repeated safely if cancer returns. However, there is an 85% chance that freezing will result in nerve damage and cause impotence. In a study done at the University of California, cryosurgery was associated with favorable serum PSA characteristics in 49% of patients 3 years after treatment. (http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S002253470568576X)
A very good study of cryosurgery done in Bristol can be found in this link: http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1464-410X.2003.04746.x?cookieSet=1
High intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is currently undergoing clinical trials in the United States. HIFU is a noninvasive treatment that uses precision-focused ultrasound waves to heat and destroy (ablate) targeted prostatic tissue without affecting healthy surrounding tissue. It has been shown to effectively treat localized prostate cancer as well as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). (http://www.urologychannel.com/prostatecancer/treatment-surg.shtml)
I hope this helps. Take care and keep us posted.