A new treatment option for prostate cancer has allowed patients
to go about their normal lives in a day or two after treatment.
What's more the non-invasive magnetic resonance-guided focused
ultrasound method offers little complications.
Since the pilot last August, seven patients with low risk
prostate cancer were put through the treatment option by the
Singapore General Hospital (SGH) and Singapore's National Cancer
Centre (NCCS).
The non-invasive surgery treatment option allows doctors to
visualize the tumour and surrounding tissue.
High levels of heat will then be concentrated on a target site to
destroy the cancerous tumour.
Experts say this treatment option is so precise that it can treat
sites as small as a millimeter, which is about half the size of a
grain of rice.
Existing treatment options for prostate cancer include the surgical
removal of the prostate gland and radiation therapy.
However, Head and Senior Consultant of the Department of Urology at
SGH, Associate Professor Christopher Cheng, says they have lasting
side effects that significantly impact the quality of life of
patients.
These side effects include incontinence and impotence.
Phase 2 trials started last month and the option is expected to be
made commonly available to patients in about two years.
-- 938Live