Treatment Options

Minimally Invasive Prostate Cancer Treatment Options

Speak With A Doctor   1 (877) 884-4438

 

What Are Your Prostate Cancer Treatment Options?

ON THIS PAGE: You will learn about the main treatment options currently available for men with prostate cancer. Use the menu below below to jump to sections on prostate cancer symptoms and types, different treatment options, background information about our prostate cancer clinicians, and more

There are a lot of different kinds of treatment for prostate cancer and the same ones aren’t right for everyone. Every man should talk to his doctor about what treatment is right for him based on his diagnosis and overall health.

297691_9600c945381c4317be456d947c84dd45
In many cases, prostate cancer is a very treatable disease. However, some treatment options may lead to side effects such incontinence and sexual problems that significantly impact quality of life.  For any questions about prostate cancer or prostate cancer treatment, reach out to HIFU Prostate Services for expert advice. 1 (877) 884-4438

Factors That Impact Which Prostate Cancer Treatment Option to Get

Prostate cancer is usually a slowly developing type of cancer, and in most cases is found in the early stages. During these stages, it is important that you speak with your doctor about the risks and benefits of different treatment options, and when you should begin them. Different prostate cancer treatment options will be better than others based on information such as:

  • If your PSA levels are stable or are rapidly rising
  • Whether the cancer has spread to the bone
  • Your health history
  • The quality of your life
  • Your current urinary and sexual function
  • Other medical conditions

Overview of the Stages of Prostate Cancer

While the details of your treatment will hinge on these details, there are some established practices for how to treat prostate cancer of varying stages. To go over those briefly:

 

Stages I and II

Early-stage prostate cancer typically is a slow-growing type of cancer. As a result, active surveillance may be recommended. Your doctor may also suggest radiation therapy or High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) prostate ablation as well. 

 

Stage III

Locally advanced prostate cancer may be treated with radiation or hormonal therapy, or with surgery alone. The ASCO recommends doctors consider using hormonal therapy to stop the production of testosterone to help stop cancer from spreading. Active surveillance remains an option at this stage as well.

 

Stage IV

Stage IV is advanced prostate cancer, where the cancer has metastasized and spread to other areas of the body. Doctors often have different opinions about the best standard treatment for Stage IV prostate cancer. There is no cure for metastatic prostate cancer, however, it is often treatable for quite a long time. Stage IV prostate cancer can be like living with a chronic disease — requiring ongoing treatment to minimize the symptoms while maintaining wellbeing.

 


Treatment Options of Prostate Cancer

ACTIVE SURVEILLANCE

For men who are diagnosed early and cancer is expected to grow slowly. Men regularly visit their doctor and monitor the disease closely with frequent tests. Most protocols include patients with a PSA score of less than 10, a prostate cancer grading score (GLEASON GRADE) of less than 3 or 4, and a low volume of prostate cancer found at the time of the biopsy. In recent years, more and more doctors also implement MRI scanning as a part of active surveillance, to help them make more informed decisions. Roughly two out of every three men diagnosed with prostate cancer are good candidates for active surveillance. For many of these men, when prostate cancer is growing slowly, other treatments such as surgery or radiation may not actually help increase their lifespan or health. More invasive, aggressive options like radiation have side effects with risks that may outweigh the benefits.

Learn More About Active Surveillance

High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU)

Minimally invasive, outpatient procedure that using focused ultrasound energy to heat and destroy prostatic tissue. HIFU was approved by FDA in the U.S. for prostate tissue ablation in October 2015.

HIFU Prostate Services partners with leading urology practices and physicians to provide men with prostate cancer this non-invasive method to help manage or eliminate the cancer while preserving the patient’s quality of life. How does HIFU work? Through the use of an advanced, computer-controlled high-intensity focused ultrasound device, ultrasound waves are targeted directly at the prostate to accurately ablate and destroy the diseased tissue.

HIFU has a low risk of side effects, does not damage the surrounding tissue, and can be repeated more frequently than other treatment options such as radiation therapy. No radiation is involved in HIFU, and it is an outpatient procedure that typically takes between one and four hours to perform. After just a few days, patients can expect to be fully recovered and back to doing their normal activities. HIFU does not preclude other treatment options either, so undergoing a HIFU procedure does not mean other more aggressive treatment options are off the table. 

According to a number of clinical studies, men who had focal treatment (ablation of just the cancerous prostate lobe) “an absence of clinically significant cancer in the treated lobe in 95% of cases and an optimal preservation of the continence for 97% of the patients and of the erectile function for more than 78% of them.” Even more promising, “In 2013 and 2014, three clinical studies (1;2;3) from French and German centers published long-term results (10 years) of total HIFU treatment and validated its efficacy: according to cancer risk, specific survival rate  at 10 years is between 92% and 99%; survival rate without metastasis at 10 years is between 86% and 100%.”

Learn More About HIFU

SURGERY

Surgery to remove the prostate is called a radical prostatectomy. There are several types of prostatectomy including one that is performed laparoscopically or with a robot.

RADIATION

Using targeted radiation energy to shrink or stall growth of tumor. There are several types of radiation including external beam radiation that is aimed from outside the body and brachytherapy, which is radioactive seeds that are placed inside the prostate.

CRYOTHERAPY

Freezing of prostatic tissue to destroy tumor.

HORMONE THERAPY

A systematic therapy that adds or removes hormones in order to stop or shrink tumor growth.

 


 

Learn More About Our Mission

Find A Prostate Cancer Physician Near You to Perform High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) Treatment

Even though prostate cancer may usually be slow-developing, it’s important to talk with a prostate cancer urologist as soon as possible. If you are having enlarged prostate symptoms or your prostate is not functioning normally, get that checked out as soon as possible. 

No matter where you are located in the U.S., there is a specialized HIFU prostate cancer treatment physician to call. Through our ever-expanding treatment network, HIFU Prostate Services is committed to providing men throughout the country with the finest HIFU prostate cancer treatment available anywhere. Please contact us for information about any of the physicians or treatment locations on our Find a HIFU Physician page

Please contact us for more information.