High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU): A Non-Invasive Prostate Cancer Treatment
For early-stage prostate cancers, we may have the option of using one of the newest non-invasive procedures available. Orlando Health Medical Group Urology offers High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU), a type of focal therapy for prostate cancer that attacks tumors using sound waves. One of the key advantages of this treatment is that it helps your team target the tumor, while causing little or no damage to surrounding tissue. This can minimize some of the side effects associated with traditional prostate cancer treatments.
The treatment works by harnessing the intense power of sound waves. You may be familiar with ultrasound imaging that uses sound waves to create detailed images of what’s happening inside the body. Doctors, for example, use fetal ultrasounds (sonograms) to keep an eye on developing babies in the womb. HIFU takes that power to another level, amplifying it 10,000 times. It is commonly described as being similar to the way you can use a magnifying glass to focus the power of the sun to make something burn. HIFU works in the same way, creating an intense beam of sound that can alter or destroy tissue.
If HIFU is right for you, your Orlando Health Medical Group Urology team will use advanced imaging to pinpoint the location of the tumor. During the treatment, a thin probe is inserted into your rectum (the procedure involves no incisions or needles) to reach the prostate. The high-frequency sound waves are directed, in short pulses, at an area that is roughly the size of a grain of rice, located in the center of the tumor. The powerful beam forces the temperature to rise until the resulting heat destroys the abnormal cells. Throughout the procedure, your surgeon will use real-time imaging to ensure success. The procedure, performed in a single session, takes about two hours.
One of the challenges of treating prostate cancer is destroying the tumor without damaging healthy tissue around the prostate. With some of the more aggressive or invasive procedures, there is the potential for unwanted side effects such as incontinence, erectile dysfunction and skin burns. HIFU is a non-invasive procedure that allows your surgeon enormous control over the tissue that is affected by sound waves. This pinpoint approach reduces the risk of unwanted side effects. Other benefits include lower risk of bleeding or infection, no exposure to radiation and quicker recovery time compared with traditional surgery. Patients can go back to their daily activities without any problems.
High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound is most effective against earlier-stage prostate cancer, ideally with only one tumor. The best candidates also have small-to-medium-sized prostate glands and no major calcifications. The sound waves cannot penetrate tissue that is too dense.