Focal therapy, often referred to as a “male lumpectomy,” is a general term for a variety of non-invasive techniques for destroying small tumors inside the prostate while leaving the gland intact and sparing most of its normal tissue.
Positioned to provide focal therapy to men, Sonablate™ HIFU is a non-surgical, radiation-free, outpatient procedure using focused sound waves to heat and destroy tissue in the prostate. As a result, HIFU Focal Therapy delivers a treatment that both eliminates the disease and preserves quality of life.
Focal Therapy is achieved with the Sonablate as it provides surgeons the ability to precisely ablate targeted tumors with pinpoint accuracy while sparing untargeted tissue and vital structures. Sound energy passes through intervening untargeted tissue to create a focal “shot” of ablation 10 mm by 3 mm by 3 mm in size. A series of shots are combined to cover the tissue targeted for ablation.
HIFU is Precise and Controlled
The Sonablate® obtains real-time ultrasound images of the prostate and surrounding areas. From these images, the doctor plans where the ultrasound energy will be delivered.
The Sonablate® software allows the surgeon to visually direct the treatment and precisely define the treatment zones in order to destroy selected targeted portions (focal therapy).
Unlike radiation, HIFU is non-ionizing so it can be repeated, if necessary, without damaging healthy tissue. This means that HIFU can also be used as a salvage technique if other prostate cancer treatments fail.
The Sonablate® is the only non-invasive HIFU device for prostate cancer that does not require a transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP), an invasive surgical procedure for moderate and large prostates, prior to treatment in order to achieve effective results. The Sonablate® is also the only visually directed HIFU device.
PROSTATE CANCER PRIMARY TREATMENT MORBIDITY
- Hamdy FC, Donovan JL, Lane JA, et al. Patient-Reported Outcomes after Monitoring, Surgery, or Radiotherapy for Prostate Cancer. N Engl J Med 2016;375(15):1425-1437
- Mistry KB, SimonEmara A, et al. MP70-11 Medium Term Outcomes Following Focal HIFU for the Treatment of Localized Prostate Cancer: A Single Centre Experience. J Urol. 2017; 197 (4): e939
- Nam RK, et al. Incidence of complications other than urinary incontinence or erectile dysfunction after radical prostatectomy or radiotherapy for prostate cancer: a population-based cohort study. The Lancet Oncology. 2014;15 (2): 223 – 231
- Dearnaley DP, et al. Escalated-dose versus standard-dose conformal radiotherapy in prostate cancer: first results from the MRC RT01 randomized controlled trial. The Lancet Oncology. 2007; 8(6): 475 – 487.
