Focal Therapy Matches Prostate Cancer Standard Care in 3,477 Men, Cutting Side Effects Five-Fold
Updated
Updated · The Independent · Jul 17
Focal Therapy Matches Prostate Cancer Standard Care in 3,477 Men, Cutting Side Effects Five-Fold
3 articles · Updated · The Independent · Jul 17
Summary
Two of 3,477 men died from prostate cancer within 10 years of focal therapy, with 3% seeing the disease spread beyond the prostate.
Imperial College London researchers said those outcomes are comparable to radiotherapy or prostatectomy, while the targeted treatment carries a five-fold lower risk of incontinence, erectile dysfunction and rectal problems.
50% to 66% of prostate cancers confined to the prostate could be suitable for focal therapy—about 15,000 UK cases a year—but only around 1,000 men currently receive it.
The findings, published in European Urology, add weight to last month's UK government pledge of extra funding to expand access to the minimally invasive treatment.
Why did a less-harmful cancer therapy face a two-decade delay before its breakthrough study in the UK's NHS?
Could this therapy's fewer side effects finally make a national prostate cancer screening program a viable reality?
Does sparing healthy tissue with focal therapy increase the long-term risk of cancer returning in the prostate?
10-Year NHS Data: Salvage Prostatectomy Outperforms Radiotherapy for Recurrent Prostate Cancer—Implications for Focal Therapy and Future NHS Practice
Overview
A major NHS-backed study, published in JAMA Oncology in 2024, has transformed the understanding of how to treat recurrent prostate cancer. Led by researchers from Imperial College London and supported by the NIHR, the study analyzed data from 19 NHS hospitals collected between 2006 and 2024. It is the first large UK study to directly compare salvage radical prostatectomy and salvage radiotherapy for men whose prostate cancer returned after initial treatment, usually signaled by rising PSA levels. The findings offer new hope and clearer guidance for both patients and clinicians facing difficult treatment decisions.