University of Virginia Health System

U.VA. OFFERS NEW FREEZING TREATMENT FOR LOCALIZED PROSTATE CANCER

A new therapy that kills cancer cells by freezing them is now improving treatment for prostate cancer patients at the University of Virginia Health System. The new technique, called cryotherapy, is delivered via very thin needles in an outpatient setting.

Early research on the first patients treated with this technique shows few side-effects - including pain and frequency of urination - may result from this treatment, said Dr. Dan Theodorescu, Paul Mellon Professor of Urology at U.Va. It can be used with patients who have already had external beam radiation, but have had a recurrence of cancer in the prostate. It also can be used as a first-time treatment for prostate cancer that has not spread to other parts of the body.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men and the second-leading cause of male cancer deaths, according to the American Cancer Society. Rates of the disease increase with age, and approximately 80 percent of the estimated 198,100 men diagnosed with prostate cancer this year will be 65 or older.

The cryotherapy procedure starts with a three-dimensional computer image made by ultrasound of the diseased prostate. This allows doctors to plan placement of the extremely thin cryotherapy needles in a template frame. This frame holds the needles so that their tips can be arranged precisely around the prostate.

The patient is anesthetized either with a general or epidural/spinal anesthetic so that needle insertion is painless. Once the needles are in place, doctors use high pressure argon gas to form an ice ball at the tip of each needle. The ice balls grow together to form a larger ice ball in the exact shape and size around the patient's prostate. The ice -- at minus 40 degrees Celsius -- kills the cells in the prostate. The dead cells are harmlessly reabsorbed into the patient's body. Using ultrasound, the doctors can watch the freezing process as it occurs. Patients can return to most normal activities within 48 hours following treatment, Theodorescu said.

U.Va. uses the SeedNet cryotherapy system developed by Galil Medical.

Other treatment options for prostate cancer include: surgical removal of the prostate (radical prostatectomy) for early-stage cancer; external radiation beam therapy; brachytherapy, which uses tiny radioactive metal seeds surgically placed directly around the tumor; and hormone therapy to slow the growth of the tumor and reduce its size.

The American Urological Association recommends that men age 50 and older have an annual prostate-screening antigen blood test and digital rectal exam to detect prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer patients who would like more information about cryotherapy should call the U.Va. Department of Urology at (434) 924-2224.

November 26, 2001