PROSTATE
CANCER CRYOTHERAPY
Cryosurgery Procedures
Prostate Cancer Primary
Cryotherapy Treatment
When a patient is first diagnosed with
prostate cancer, a physician in the field of urology
will help him decide what prostate cancer treatment
is best based on a variety of prostate gland characteristics
and criteria. Recent advances in cryosurgical
ablation, as a minimally invasive treatment alternative
to prostatectomy, have led to the ability to treat
primary cancer successfully. Reported advantages
of this prostate cancer treatment as first-line
monotherapy are superior accuracy in probe placement
and full monitoring of the freezing process, thus
minimizing treatment-related complications. Perhaps
one of the most important preoperative procedures
is to determine if cryotherapy is suitable since
patient selection is essential to positive cryosurgery
results for prostate cancer.
Who’s Suitable for Prostate Cancer Primary Cryotherapy?
Cryosurgical
ablation is appropriate as primary treatment
for patients with organ-confined, or localized,
prostate cancer or prostate cancer with minimal
disease extension outside the prostate. Patients
who fit the profile for primary cryotherapy
ablation should have a Gleason score of six
(6) or lower, and a PSA level of ten (10) or lower.
They should also have a prostate gland less than
50 cc.
Who’s Not Suitable for Prostate Cancer Primary Cryotherapy?
Those who have undergone a transurethral resection of the prostate, or TURP, may not be eligible for cryoablation as primary treatment as this procedure leaves insufficient tissue for growing the iceballs necessary for ablation. Cryotherapy is currently associated with higher rates of impotence than other local treatment alternatives; therefore, patients concerned with preservation of erectile function are probably less-than-ideal candidates.
What to Expect Before, During, and After the Cryotherapy Procedure?
There are a variety of prostate cancer cryosurgery
treatment modalities from which to choose, and
depending on the method the treating physician
deems appropriate, the procedure can vary. For
example, intraoperative cryotherapy requires general
anesthesia while percutaneous cryotherapy can
be performed with the patient fully conscious,
using only local anesthesia. Generally, the procedure
involves the insertion of the very small diameter
cryoablation
needles through the perineum (the tissue between
the rectum and the scrotum/penis) and the use
of imaging devices, such as ultrasound or computed
tomography (CT), to direct the physician as he
or she targets, freezes, and ablates the tumor.
To read more about the procedure, see Cryosurgery
Treatment Process.
From start to finish, the procedure can take under two hours, and patients typically go home after 24 to 48 hours with a foley catheter in place that will remain inserted for two or three weeks. Just after cryosurgical ablation, is it normal to see a trace of blood in the urine. To keep the bladder from having spasms, a urologist may send patients home with an antibiotic and a medication. Most men are able to return to daily activities after several days.
To find out about the success rates
of primary cryotherapy, click Prostate
Cancer Treatment Success Rates.
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