A study published in this month’s Lancet has received a lot of media attention, getting recogniztion in such outlets as the Time, UK Telegraph, Businessweek, Time, UK Telegraph, Businessweek, Marketwatch, and more.
The study, Focal therapy for localised unifocal and multifocal prostate cancer: a prospective development study, details the results of 42 patients treated with the Sonoblate HIFU system in their phase 2 clinical trial.
From the Time article:
The new study, designed as a proof-of-concept study, involved just 41 men. Doctors used MRI and mapping biopsies to locate the cancerous tissues. They then focused high-energy sound waves on the affected area, causing the cancer cells to heat up to around 80°C, which kills the cells. None of the patients reported urinary incontinence a year after treatment, and only 1 in 10 suffered from poor erections. Overall, about 95% of the men were cancer-free after a full year following the trial.
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“The signal from this study is quite strong,” study author Hashim Ahmed, a urologist at the University College London, told Bloomberg. “When you look at the current standard of care, there’s a 1-in-3, or 1-in-2 chance of having the perfect outcome. In this study, after 12 months, it’s a 9-in-10 chance.”