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Conquer Cancer with Cryotherapy

It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that cryotherapy has indeed come a long way since the days of Dr. Arnott, even earning fancy new names like cryoablation that insinuate just how far it’s advanced technologically. But the essence of what it does has remained the same throughout time, maintaining one basic and essential purpose: to destroy something that’s really harmful by exposing it to something that’s really cold. When it comes to treating internal cancers, this is precisely what takes place. A cryosurgeon inserts what’s known as a “cryoprobe” (aka “freeze wand”) into a patient’s body, delivering a blast of icy terror to the site of a tumor. Using nitrogen, nitrous oxide, or argon…

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Articles of Interest

Cryotherapy for prostate cancer

Cryotherapy for prostate cancer is a promising treatment option, offering a minimally invasive approach with targeted results. While it comes with potential risks, its benefits make it a viable choice for many patients. Understanding the procedure, benefits, and risks can help you make an informed decision about your prostate cancer treatment.

Focal Cryotherapy for Prostate Cancer: A Targeted Approach

Unlike whole-gland therapies (such as radical prostatectomy, prostate radiation, and whole-gland cryotherapy), focal prostate cryotherapy selectively targets the affected areas. This precision reduces the risk of damage to healthy tissue and minimizes potential side effects seen with the total gland treatments.

Primary cryotherapy for localised or locally advanced prostate cancer

Traditionally, radical prostatectomy and radiotherapy with or without androgen deprivation therapy have been the main treatment options to attempt to cure men with localised or locally advanced prostate cancer. Cryotherapy is an alternative option for treatment of prostate cancer that involves freezing of the whole prostate (whole gland therapy) or only the cancer (focal therapy), but it is unclear how effective this is in comparison to other treatments.

Some prostate cancer patients good candidates for cryoablation

However, it is not suitable for all patients. Factors such as the size, location and typing of the patient’s cancer, as well as the size of their prostate, play a role in whether cryotherapy can be an option. It is also unclear at this time if the long-term survival rates of this approach match those of either radiation or surgery.

Systematic Review of Focal and Salvage Cryotherapy for Prostate Cancer

In conclusion, this systematic review does not find a difference in cancer-specific overall and biochemical-free survival rates comparing primary with salvage cryotherapy cohorts. The commonest complication encountered for both cohorts of the patient included erectile dysfunction, urinary incontinence, lower urinary tract/bladder neck and infection. The patient's functional outcome has mixed results varied from improvement, unchanged and worsening of urogenital function. This review helps supplement and consolidate previous similar reviews and meta-analyses published previously. There is a critical need for more prospective and double-arm studies to help and provide guidance for careful selection of patient cohort for cryotherapy is paramount regardless of curative/salvage intent.

Resources

Prost8

Focal therapy, including cryotherapy and focal ultrasound (HIFU), is usually best suited to men with early stage non-metastatic prostate cancer (although it can also be used in cases of recurrent disease). It will provide literally thousands of men with the opportunity to receive less invasive treatment and retain maximum functionality (urinary continence and erectile function) ongoing.

Zero Prostate Cancer

Cryotherapy, also called cryoablation or cryosurgery, uses freezing gas to destroy cancer cells in the prostate. This type of treatment is categorized as focal therapy. Focal therapy is a treatment that targets a specific region of the prostate. Important: Focal therapies and their long-term success has not been proven in larger clinical trials. Cryotherapy, and other focal therapies, should be considered as investigational treatments.

Cancer Research UK

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines recommend using cryotherapy for prostate cancer only as part of clinical trials. Specialist centres doing their own research can also use it.

CancerQuest

Cryotherapy or cryoablation (Cryo is from the Greek for frost or extreme cold. Ablation refers to removal or elimination.) is the use of extreme cold to kill tumor cells. A probe containing an extremely cold fluid is placed inside/on the area to be treated and the tumor (or abnormal growth) is frozen. Cryotherapy can be performed during a open (fully invasive) surgery or the probes can be inserted through the skin in a minimally invasive procedure. The liquid does not enter the tumor, but the rod is cold enough to freeze the tumor.

Endocare

Cryotherapy is a minimally invasive treatment primarily for prostate, kidney and lung cancers as well as a palliative treatment for bone pain. It has been used since the 19th Century, but advancements continue to be made every year.