Prostate cancer ultrasound treatment as effective as surgery or radiotherapy

Using high energy ultrasound beams to destroy prostate cancer tumours may be as effective as surgery or radiotherapy, but with fewer side effects, a report co-led by UCL has found. The research, carried out across six UK hospitals, tracked the registration data of 625 men with prostate cancer who received a type of treatment called high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU). The report is the largest ever of HIFU treatment used to target prostate tumours. The treatment is similar to a 'lumpectomy' for other cancers - where doctors remove only tumour cells, leaving as much healthy tissue as possible. The findings, from a number of institutions including Imperial College London and UCL, found that after five years the cancer survival rate was 100%. Approximately, 1 in 10 men needed further treatment. The cancer survival rate from surgery and radiotherapy is also 100% at five years.