BACKGROUND: High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) applies high-intensity focused ultrasound energy to locally heat and destroy diseased or damaged tissue through ablation.
This study intended to review HIFU to explain the fundamentals of HIFU, evaluate the evidence concerning the role of HIFU in the treatment of prostate cancer (PC), review the technologies used to perform HIFU and the published clinical literature regarding the procedure as a primary treatment for PC.
MATERIAL/METHODS: Studies addressing HIFU in localized PC were identified in a search of internet scientific databases. The analysis of outcomes was limited to journal articles written in English and published between 2000 and 2013.
RESULTS: HIFU is a non-invasive approach that uses a precisely delivered ultrasound energy to achieve tumor cell necrosis without radiation or surgical excision. In current urological oncology, HIFU is used clinically in the treatment of PC. Clinical research on HIFU therapy for localized PC began in the 1990s, and the majority of PC patients were treated with the Ablatherm device.
CONCLUSIONS: HIFU treatment for localized PC can be considered as an alternative minimally invasive therapeutic modality for patients who are not candidates for radical prostatectomy. Patients with lower pre-HIFU PSA level and favourable pathologic Gleason score seem to present better oncologic outcomes. Future advances in technology and safety will undoubtedly expand the HIFU role in this indication as more of patient series are published, with a longer follow-up period.
Written by:
Alkhorayef M, Mahmoud MZ, Alzimami KS, Sulieman A, Fagiri MA. Are you the author?
Department of Radiological Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Department of Radiology and Medical Imaging, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Salman bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj, Saudi Arabia; Department of Basic Sciences, College of Medical Radiological Sciences, Sudan University of Science and Technology, Khartoum, Sudan.
Reference: Pol J Radiol. 2015 Mar 13;80:131-41.
doi: 10.12659/PJR.892341
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 25806099