The “male lumpectomy”: Focal therapy for prostate cancer using cryoablation results in 48 patients with at least 2-year follow-up

Abstract

Background The use of breast sparing surgery, i.e., “lumpectomy”, revolutionized management of breast cancer. Lumpectomy confirmed that quality of life issues can successfully be addressed without compromising treatment efficacy. Complications of prostate cancer treatment, including impotence and incontinence, affect the male self image no less than the loss of a breast does a woman. Traditional thinking held that prostate cancer was multifocal and therefore not amenable to a focal treatment approach. Recent pathology literature indicates, however, that up to 25% of prostate cancers are solitary and unilateral. This raises the question of whether these patients can be identified and treated with a limited “lumpectomy” or focal cancer treatment. Methods Focal cryoablation was planned to encompass the area of known tumor based on staging biopsies. PSAs were obtained every 3 months for 2 years and then every 6 months thereafter. Results Forty-eight patients with at least 2-year follow-up had focal cryoablation. Follow-up ranged from 2 years 10 years with a mean of 4.5 years; 45 of 48 patients (94%) have stable PSAs [American Society of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) criteria] with no evidence for cancer, despite 25 patients being medium to high risk for recurrence. Of the 24 patients with stable PSAs who were routinely biopsied ( n = 24) all were negative. No local recurrences were noted in areas treated. Potency was maintained to the satisfaction of the patient in of 36 of 40 patients who were potent preoperatively. Of the 48, all were continent. Conclusion These preliminary results indicate a “male lumpectomy” in which the prostate tumor region itself is destroyed, appears to preserve potency in a majority of patients and limits other complications (particularly incontinence), without compromising cancer control. If confirmed by further studies and long-term follow-up, this treatment approach could have a profound effect on prostate cancer management.