New technologies and techniques for prostate cancer focal therapy.

INTRODUCTION

The aim of this study was to review the oncological and functional outcomes of new and established primary focal treatments (FT) for localized prostate cancer (PCa).

EVIDENCE ACQUISITION

We performed a systematic search of published studies on FT for localized PCa using electronic databases (Medline and Embase). These studies included reports on hemi-ablation, focal ablation and target-ablation. We excluded salvage focal therapy studies and limited the search to those with a minimum of 12 months of follow-up.

EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS

We selected 20 studies with a total of 2523 patients who were treated in the primary setting. The energy sources used were cryotherapy (8), high-intensity focused ultrasound (9), irreversible electroporation (1), photodynamic therapy (1) and focused laser ablation (1), with 65% hemiablation, 25% focal ablation and 10% target-ablation. The median follow-ups ranged from 6 to 44.4 months. Mean age was 60.4-70 years and mean prostate-specific antigen was 4.4-<10 ng/dL; 26-100% had a Gleason Score of 6, and 0-65% had a Gleason Score of 7. Patient selection was carried out by TRUS biopsy in 9 studies, while transperineal template mapping biopsy and mp-MRI were employed in six and 13 studies, respectively. The overall post-treatment positive biopsy rate was 1.2-51% with 1.6-32% patients having a residual disease in the treated area. The post-treatment continence rates were 90-100%, and the rates of erectile dysfunction ranged from 0-53.2%.

CONCLUSIONS

Reliable evidence for the partial-gland treatment of PCa is increasing, and encouraging mid-term oncologic outcomes with the preservation of sexual and urinary functions have been reported. Accurate patient selection at the outset of treatment and careful follow-up seem key attributes to achieve excellent functional results and encouraging oncological outcomes.