PROSTATE
CANCER CRYOTHERAPY
Cryosurgery Procedures
Prostate Cancer Salvage
Cryotherapy Treatment
Patients who have undergone prostate cancer radiation therapy or another treatment for prostate cancer and have experienced a recurrence are left with limited treatment options. The patient may opt for a radical prostatectomy that will risk significant side effects or hormone therapy that will reduce the size of the tumor but not offer a cure. Salvage cryotherapy ablation treatment, a minimally invasive procedure, stands as the best option for prostate cancer recurrence patients. Cryosurgery in prostate cancer offers a treatment for prostate cancer with fewer side effects than a prostatectomy. Patients who do not achieve a low PSA level or experience rising PSA levels after initial prostate cancer treatments may be candidates for salvage cryotherapy.
Who’s Suitable for Prostate Cancer Salvage Cryotherapy?
It is essential that salvage prostate cryoablation treatment patients be carefully selected. It is commonly recommended that men with a life expectancy of more than 10 years be considered for salvage prostate cryosurgery. Prostate cancer recurrence patients are only eligible for salvage cryosurgery for prostate cancer if there is a near certainty that the prostate cancer radiation therapy failed due to persistent local cancer and not because of metastatic stages. If the cancer has reached the metastatic prostate cancer stages, cryosurgical ablation treatments will be ineffective.
Who’s Not Suitable for Salvage Prostate Cancer Cryosurgery?
Patients with a life expectancy of less than 10 years are commonly given hormone therapy to help control the size of the prostate or watchful waiting prostate cancer treatment options. Patients who are at high-risk for complications or failure include those who underwent a previous transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP). Radiation failure patients who have undergone prior TURP should not be considered candidates for cryotherapy unless they are willing to accept the significant risk of total urinary incontinence.
What to Expect Before, During,
and After the Cryotherapy Procedure
The process of salvage cryotherapy ablation treatment is similar to primary cryotherapy treatment, with only minor differences. After radiation therapy, tissue around the prostate is affected and has limited healing ability. To prevent further damage, cryosurgery freezing must be stopped once the edge of the iceball has reached the capsule of the prostate. As a result, the target temperature of negative 40 degrees Celsius may not be reached. In patients who had previously undergone brachytherapy, the seeded radiotherapy and the cryoprobe are difficult to distinguish in an ultrasound. Therefore, probe placing is slightly challenged. But if the physician uses a longitudinal view, the length of the cryoablation needle can be easily distinguished from the seeds.
Salvage cryoablation has been proven to be just as effective as salvage prostatectomy, with notable reductions in rectal injury and incontinence. However, cryotherapy treatment side effects are slightly more common in salvage cryotherapy than primary cases.
For salvage cryosurgery results for prostate cancer, see Cryotherapy Treatment Success Rates. |
