The new method is being hailed as a promising alternative to treatments involving surgery and radiation. With excellent results.
A medical team has developed a method called TULSA. Ultrasound waves, ultrasound pulses targeted to eliminate prostate cancer entirely and successfully in 65% of cases with few side effects.
The new method, detailed in a study presented at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) annual meeting, could be a promising alternative to surgery. The hopes are truly encouraging.
Prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men, second only to skin cancer. It is also the second leading cause of cancer deaths among men. This is why science studies new, revolutionary diagnostic methods and care.
Traditional treatments involving surgery and radiation have proven difficult due to their heavy side effects. Strong risks of impotence, incontinence or intestinal dysfunction.
Ultrasonic revolution
This new technique avoids the major risks of treating prostate cancer by relying on a rod-shaped device. It is inserted into the urethra and uses MRI to focus precise ultrasound pulses on tumors, heating and destroying them. The surrounding areas remain completely intact.
The minimally invasive method, called transurethral ultrasound ablation guided by magnetic resonance (TULSA). It has been used on 115 men suffering from localized prostate cancer.
According to the researchers, in 80% of cases most signs of prostate cancer have been eliminated. All signs had disappeared in 65% of cases after a year.
Overall, no intestinal complications have been reported. Most men have seen reduced antigen markers in the blood for prostate cancer.
StevenRaman, co-author of the study and professor of radiology and urology at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), explained:
“It is an outpatient procedure with minimal recovery times. We have found excellent results in patients, with a dramatic reduction of over 90% in prostate volume and low impotence rates almost without incontinence."
There are two truly unique things about this TULSA system. First, you can control much more precisely where you will treat, preserving continence and sexual function.
Secondly, you can do this for both diffuse and localized prostate cancer and for benign diseases, including benign hyperplasia.”
TULSA has already been approved for clinical use in Europe and has received US Food and Drug Administration 510(k) clearance for prostate tissue ablation nationwide.
The researchers hope that the follow-up studies support the initial results of the clinical trials.
