Hayes, Inc. Unveils New Report on Minimally Invasive Prostate Cancer Treatment
Lansdale, PA (PRWEB) September 20, 2016 -- Hayes, Inc., a leading provider of unbiased health technology assessments and consulting services, has released a new report on high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU), a minimally invasive treatment for prostate cancer, which is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in men in the United States.
September is National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, designed to bring awareness of the disease and encourage men to be tested to ensure they do not become one of the 29,480 deaths annually due to prostate cancer. There are an estimated 233,000 new diagnoses of prostate cancer annually.
“Most patients would prefer to undergo a minimally invasive procedure, but there can be drawbacks,” stated Karen Crotty, PhD, Senior Scientific Officer and Senior Director, Evidence Solutions at Hayes, Inc. “Minimally invasive therapies such as HIFU may have a lower morbidity than prostatectomy and radiotherapy for prostate cancer, but questions still remain about the long-term efficacy of these procedures for tumor control.”
HIFU is typically used to treat the entire prostate gland. However, one concern detailed in the report is that if HIFU is used to treat focal areas of the gland; untreated tumor tissue may lie outside the treatment zone. Additionally, HIFU may also lead to overtreatment of slow-growing prostate cancers in patient who could experience a good outcome with active surveillance.
A minimally invasive therapy, ultrasound-guided HIFU for localized prostate cancer, uses focused ultrasound waves to thermally ablate the cancerous prostate gland. The goal is to achieve complete tumor control while avoiding the morbidity associated with more invasive therapies (e.g., prostatectomy) such as adverse effects on urinary and sexual function.
In addition to examining medications, treatments, and devices related to the procedure, the in-depth report addresses questions that include:
- Does HIFU provide effective local tumor control and acceptable rates of remission and long-term disease-free survival in patients with localized prostate cancer?
- Does HIFU provide acceptable outcomes with regard to urinary function, prostate outcomes, and sexual function?
- How does HIFU compare with other primary treatment options for localized prostate cancer, including active surveillance?
- Is HIFU safe, and what are the related complications?
- Have definitive patient selection criteria been established for HIFU treatment for localized prostate cancer?
Click here to request the full report.
Jim Hollis, Hayes, Inc., http://www.hayesinc.com, 215.855.0615, [email protected]
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