Salvage Cryotherapy Found Effective in Treating Recurrent Prostate Cancer

A new study has found that salvage cryotherapy, the targeted cryoablation of the prostate (TCAP) for localized prostate cancer recurrence after radiotherapy is both safe and effective.

Researchers at the Royal Surrey County Hospital and St. Luke's Cancer Center (Guildford, United Kingdom) evaluated the biochemical outcome and complications after salvage TCAP in 100 men whose prostate cancer recurred after radiotherapy. After a mean follow-up of 33.5 months, the researchers found that the biochemical recurrence-free survival (BRFS) after TCAP was 83% at 12 months, 72% at 24 months, and 59% at 36 months. When the patients were categorized into risk groups based on prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level, Gleason score, and clinical stage before radiotherapy, the 5-year actuarial BRFS was 73% for the low-risk group, 45% for the intermediate-risk group, and 11% for the high-risk group.

Perineal discomfort was common after the procedure, but only 4% of patients had prolonged perineal pain, which was treated successfully with oral analgesia. A significant proportion of the patients had urinal urgency and frequency at last follow-up, and 13 men developed persistent incontinence after TCAP. Among the 14 men who reported adequate erectile function before cryotherapy, six regained the same activity, six had reduced erectile function, and two had complete loss of erectile function after TCAP. The overall rate of erectile dysfunction after TCAP was 86%. The study was published in the October 2007 issue of the British Journal of Urology (BJU) International.

"Our present series suggests that TCAP is safe, well tolerated, and effective for the salvage treatment of prostate cancer,” concluded Dr. Mohamed Ismail, M.D., and colleagues. "It is minimally invasive, can be repeated, and is associated with low morbidity (except for erectile dysfunction), and for patients in whom radiotherapy has failed, it offers an additional hope of cure.”


Related Links:
Royal Surrey County Hospital and St. Luke's Cancer Center