Cryoablation Outperforms Radical Prostatectomy

“for PCa (cryoablation) using individualized cryoneedle delivery based on biopsy-proven cancer mapping achieved acceptable oncologic and functional outcomes with low rates of incontinence and complications.”

You’ve been diagnosed with prostate cancer (PCa). Based on your discussions with your oncologist/urologist, the PCa is advanced enough that you want to undergo more than active surveillence and more the other early stage therapies.

Your goal is to undergo a therapy that will both eradicate your PCa, while minimizing your risk of short, long-term and late stage side effects that can be associated with radical prostatectomy such as incontinence and impotence. According to the article linked below, cryoablation might just be that therapy.

The most important sentence in the study below is  “achieve acceptable oncologic and functional outcomes with low rates of incontinence and complications.” In laymen’s terms, this means you want the best chance of killing your PCa with the lowest risk of complications such as incontinence and impotence.

As always, studies like the one below must be broken down aka translated. In order for the study to mean something to you, you want to see if your situation applies to the study-

• The median follow-up was 5 years. Patients had a
• median age of 71 years and
• median PSA level of 7.5 ng/mL.
• The clinical stage was
• T1c in 48% of men,
• T2 in 44%,
• and T3 in 8%)

In terms of getting rid of your PCa forever, according to the article below, ” PSA level above 0.2 ng/mL, was 39% for the cryoablation cohort and 79% for the RP cohort- meaning the risk of rising PSA levels after cryotherapy was 40% less than prostatectomy. A big difference. The risk of

The main finding of the study focused on patients’ PSA after five years. 39% of the cryotherapy patients experienced post-treatment PSA levels above 0.2 ng/mL and 79% of the radical prostatectomy patient had post-treatment PSA levels above 0.2 ng/mL. Cryo PCa patients had less than half the risk of PSA rising after the procedure.

David Emerson

• Cancer Survivor
• Cancer Coach
• Director PeopleBeatingCancer

PCa Cryoablation Achieves Acceptable Outcomes

“Primary whole gland cryoablation for prostate cancer (PCa) based on targeted biopsy-proven cancer mapping, achieves acceptable oncologic and functional outcomes at 5 years, investigators reported at the Society of Urologic Oncology 17^th annual meeting in San Antonio, Texas.

Alfredo Maria Bove, MD, and colleagues at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles reviewed the records of 102 patients undergoing whole gland cryoablation for localized PCa. At entry, image-based cancer mapping using staging biopsy guided by transrectal ultrasound and Doppler were digitally documented. All procedures were performed under TRUS guidance with individualized cryoneedle delivery based on preoperative cancer mapping. The researchers defined biochemical failure as post-treatment PSA level above 0.2 ng/mL and a PSA nadir + 2 (the Phoenix definition).

The median follow-up was 5 years. Patients had a median age of 71 years and median PSA level of 7.5 ng/mL. The clinical stage was T1c in 48% of men, T2 in 44%, and T3 in 8%). The D’Amico group risk was low in 24% of men, intermediate in 50%, and high in 26%. In 65 patients (66%) PSA declined to below 0.2 ng/mL. The estimated biochemical failure-free survival (EBFFS) rate was 84% by the Phoenix definition. In addition, 73 biopsies were performed in 43 (44%) patients, with 5 (5%) positive for PCa.

Complications developed in 13 patients (12.7%). The incontinence rate was 4%. Potency recovered in 12% of patients.

The researchers compared the cryoablation cohort with 102 men who underwent open radical prostatectomy (RP), matching the patients by preoperative PSA level, Gleason score, and clinical stage. The 5-year EBFFS, based on patients who had a post-treatment PSA level above 0.2 ng/mL, was 39% for the cryoablation cohort and 79% for the RP cohort, a statistically significant difference between the groups. Metastases developed in 5 (5%) of the cryoablation patients and 4 (4%) of the RP patients. Eight cryotherapy and 12 RP patients required salvage treatment.

Dr Bove and colleagues concluded that cryoablation “for PCa using individualized cryoneedle delivery based on biopsy-proven cancer mapping achieved acceptable oncologic and functional outcomes with low rates of incontinence and complications. Regarding metastases and need for salvage treatment, cryoablation provided median 5-year oncologic outcomes comparable to that of pair-matched open RP.”