A prospective clinical trial of HIFU hemiablation for clinically localized prostate cancer

Focal therapy is an emerging mini-invasive treatment modality for localized prostate cancer aimed to reduce the morbidity associated with radical therapy while maintaining optimal cancer control. We report the mid-term oncological and functional results of primary hemiablation high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) in a prospective cohort of patients.Methods:Over 8 years, hemiablation HIFU was primarily performed in 50 selected patients with biopsy-proven clinically localized unilateral, low-intermediate risk prostate cancer in complete concordance with the prostate cancer lesions identified by magnetic resonance imaging with precise loci matching on multimodal approach. Post-treatment follow-up included regular serial PSA measurements. Biochemical recurrence was reported using Stuttgart and Phoenix criteria. The latter was used as a threshold to offer whole-gland biopsies.Results:Complete follow-up was available for all patients and the median follow-up was 39.5 months (range: 6-94). Mean nadir PSA value was 1.6 ng ml-1, which represents 72% reduction compared with initial PSA pre-treatment value (P