The aim of focal treatments (FTs) in prostate cancer (PCa) is to treat lesions while preserving surrounding benign tissue and anatomic structures. Irreversible electroporation (IRE) is a nonthermal technique that uses high-voltage electric pulses to increase membrane permeability and induce membrane disruption in cells, which potentially causes less damage to the surrounding tissue in comparison to other ablative techniques. We summarize the study protocol for the Prostate Cancer IRE Study (PRIS), which involves two parallel randomized controlled trials comparing IRE with (1) robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) or (2) radiotherapy in men with newly diagnosed intermediate-risk PCa (NCT05513443). To reduce the number of patients for inclusion and the study duration, the primary outcomes are functional outcomes: urinary incontinence in study 1 and irritative urinary symptoms in study 2. Providing evidence of the lower impact of IRE on functional outcomes will lay a foundation for the design of future multicenter studies with an oncological outcome as the primary endpoint. Erectile function, quality of life, treatment failure, adverse events, and cost effectiveness will be evaluated as secondary objectives. Patients diagnosed with Gleason score 3 + 4 or 4 + 3 PCa from a single lesion visible on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) without any Gleason grade 4 or higher in systematic biopsies outside of the target (unifocal significant disease), aged ≥40 yr, with no established extraprostatic extension on multiparametric MRI, a lesion volume of <1.5 cm3, prostate-specific antigen <20 ng/ml, and stage ≤T2b are eligible for inclusion. The study plan is to recruit 184 men.
European urology open science. 2023 Apr 08*** epublish ***
Anna Lantz, Per Nordlund, Ugo Falagario, Fredrik Jäderling, Orhan Özbek, Mark Clements, Andrea Discacciati, Henrik Grönberg, Martin Eklund, Phillip Stricker, Mark Emberton, Markus Aly, Tobias Nordström
Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden., Department of Urology, Södersjukhuset, Stockholm, Sweden., Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden., Department of Radiology, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden., St. Vincent's Clinical School, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia., Department of Surgery and Interventional Sciences, University College London, University College Hospital, London, UK.