• High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU)
• Radical prostatectomy
• Radiation therapy
• Hormone therapy
• Cryotherapy

Some patients are choosing no treatment at all, or active surveillance, because of the effects on quality of life after treatment. The different treatment modalities are described below in more detail.

High Intensity Focused Ultrasound
HIFU with the Sonablate® 500 is a non invasive treatment option for prostate cancer that uses a transrectal probe to focus ultrasound waves in the prostate. In the focal zone, the temperature is rapidly elevated which causes tissue destruction. During HIFU, the entire prostate is treated or ablated. The entire gland is ablated to make sure there is less chance for cancer to recur in tissue that might have been left in the area. HIFU with the Sonablate® 500 takes between one to three hours and is performed as an out-patient procedure under a general, spinal, or epidural anesthesia. Recovery is minimal. There is a catheter that is inserted during the procedure that is usually worn for one to four weeks as the body heals so the bladder can empty properly. People usually are up and walking around within hours after HIFU and can return to a normal lifestyle within a couple of days. HIFU with the Sonablate® 500 has very low rates of both impotence and incontinence. Focal HIFU for small cancers appears to be feasible, with an even further decreased risk of impotence and/or incontinence.

Radical Prostatectomy
A radical prostatectomy is surgery to remove the entire prostate gland and some of the tissue around it and may be done by open or (robotic) laparoscopic surgery. An open prostatectomy usually takes one to two hours and a laparoscopic prostatectomy can take up to eight hours. The procedure is usually preformed under general anesthesia, requires a one to seven day hospital stay and a catheter is worn after the procedure for up to three weeks. Full recovery and mobility can take up to eight weeks. Following a radical prostatectomy, impotence rates are as high as 50% to 80% and incontinence rates between 10% and 20%.

Radiation Therapy
There are two primary types of radiation therapy: External Beam Radiation Therapy (EBRT) and brachytherapy or seed implants. EBRT is usually recommended for men with a prostate volume less than 60 grams and involves eight weeks of radiation directed at the cancer from outside of the body. Brachytherapy is radiation therapy transmitted by tiny radioactive pellets placed inside the prostate.
Radiation therapy has improved greatly in recent years; however, often the area of radiation is not precisely controlled and the radioactivity can extend beyond the therapeutic field and affect the neuro-vascular bundles and urinary sphincter causing permanent damage that leads to impotence and incontinence. As many as 80% of men who receive radiation notice a change in their ability to have erections. This change most often develops slowly over the first year or so after radiotherapy. Approximately 10% to 20% of radiation patients suffer from incontinence. There is also a chance for damage to the rectum and the bowels as a result of ionizing radiation including proctitis or a rectal fistula which in severe cases may require a colonoscopy. Recent studies also show that radiation for prostate cancer causes a greater risk for developing rectal or colon cancer. The radiation field may also extend to the bladder causing radiation cystitis, an irritation of the bladder, which may be severe enough to necessitate major surgery to divert the urine away from the bladder.

Hormone Therapy
Hormone therapy, which reduces the amount of testosterone in the bloodstream and thereby deprives a prostate tumor of a necessary stimulus, has been shown in clinical trials to extend life and delay time to disease progression. Nearly all prostate cancers treated with hormone therapy become resistant to this treatment over a period of months or years. Possible side effects of hormone therapy include: hot flashes, breast tenderness and growth of breast tissue, osteoporosis, anemia, decreased mental acuity, loss of muscle mass, weight gain, fatigue, decrease in HDL (”good”) cholesterol and depression.

Cryoablation
Cryoablation is a form of cryotherapy for the prostate that involves the controlled freezing of the prostate gland in order to destroy cancerous cells. The damage caused by freezing occurs at several levels: molecular, cellular and whole tissue structure. Important factors influencing freezing injury are the rate of temperature reduction after the initiation of freezing, the time cells remain frozen and the subsequent heating rate during thawing. The cells are not the only structures damaged during freezing. During cryoablation of the prostate, the surrounding connective tissue (stroma) and the smallest blood vessels (capillaries) are damaged and subsequently have an inadequate blood supply that is believed to slow the growth of cancer.
Cryoablation begins with placing hollow needles at predetermined locations in the prostate under ultrasound guidance. Through the needles Argon gas is injected that results in deep sub-zero temperatures causing cellular destruction of the prostate in a controlled fashion. This cycle is repeated at least twice to achieve cancer cell destruction. Although it is considered a minimally invasive procedure, it is still a major operation and may require an overnight hospital stay. A catheter is inserted after the procedure and worn for one to three weeks. Over 90% of the patients treated with classic cryoablation are impotent and less than 10% are incontinent. Focal cryoablation can be performed on small cancers, significantly decreasing the chances of impotence and incontinence.

Early prostate cancer has very few to no symptoms, so it can only be found through routine screening. As men get older, especially over the age of 50, it is very important to be tested and to identify any abnormalities. Not all prostate problems are cancer, but prostate cancer is the most serious problem. Some prostate cancers are small and/or slow and do not progress beyond the prostate gland. Some are more aggressive and advance very rapidly. Treatment is more successful if it is started when the cancer is still small and is still contained within the prostate gland.

There are a number of different options for how prostate cancer can be treated, each has its own risks and benefits. Primarily patients choose between watchful waiting, surgery, and different types of radiation therapy. New emerging prostate cancer treatments such as HIFU are becoming increasingly popular because they are non invasive and preserve patient quality of life.

As the prostate grows, it grows through the prostate, the prostate capsule and the fat that surround the prostate. It can also grow into the base of the bladder and into the seminal vesicles which are located adjacent to the prostate. The spread of cancer is known as metastasis. When cancer spreads outside of the capsule it usually goes to either the lymph nodes or the bones.