An emerging treatment option for men with recurring prostate cancer after radiation therapy

Prostate cancer is often a multifocal disease, meaning that several tumors can be present in different parts of gland at the same time. Not all of these tumors are equally problematic, however. And it’s increasingly thought that the tumor with the most aggressive features — called the index lesion — dictates how a man’s cancer is likely to behave overall. That concept has given rise to a new treatment option. Called partial gland ablation (PGA), and also focal therapy, it entails treating only the index lesion and its surrounding tissues, instead of removing the prostate surgically or treating the whole gland in other ways. Emerging evidence suggests that PGA controls prostate cancer effectively, but with fewer complications such as incontinence. In February, researchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) in New York published findings that could pave the way for focal therapy in men with reoccurring prostate cancer. They focused specifically on men whose cancer had returned three to four years on average after initial treatment with radiation. Their findings, while preliminary, suggest that MRI and biopsy results can allow doctors to select which patients with reoccurring prostate cancer might be eligible for PGA. The research was headed by Dr. Gregory Chesnut, an MSKCC urologist. During their study, Chesnut and his colleagues first identified 77 men who were treated for reoccurring prostate cancer at MSKCC between 2000 and 2014. All the men ha...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Health Living With Prostate Cancer Prostate Knowledge Treatments HPK Source Type: blogs