Technique to preserve sexual function after prostate cancer surgery

A UCLH and UCL led trial of a technique to preserve men's sexual potency after prostate cancer surgery has begun to recruit participants across the UK. The trial of the NeuroSAFE procedure - designed to avoid the removal during surgery of nerves near the prostate which are important for sexual function - is being led by UCLH consultant urological surgeon Greg Shaw and sponsored by UCL. The procedure - originally developed in Germany - has been done in some hospitals during prostate surgery with a robot over the last six years, but a trial definitively showing whether it is effective has never been done - until now. Researchers aim to recruit 400 men over two years to the trial which will take place at UCLH in London and at sites in Bristol, Sheffield and Glasgow - meaning the procedure will be available for the first time in Scotland. The trial will be funded by the National Institute for Health Research and the JP Moulton Foundation, and comes after the team's preliminary study in London provided hints the technique could be effective and after the procedure was nominated for a Health Service Journal award. Prostate cancer survival rates are high for patients whose cancer hasn't spread and who undergo an operation to remove their prostate. However, surgery can lead to a loss of sexual function because the nerves controlling erections run close to the prostate and can be damaged or removed in the process of removing the cancerous prostate.