For Release: May 6, 1997
Contact: Michael J. Bernstein (703) 648-8910
Carolyn J. Loss (703) 648-8928; [email protected]
Freezing Prostate Cancer Effective, Study Finds
Radiologists using a freezing technique guided by ultrasound to treat prostate cancer have had much lower failure and complication rates than radiation therapy or radical surgery, a Michigan study reports.
The study, unveiled at the 97th Annual Meeting of the American Roentgen Ray Society May 6 in Boston, MA, says the failure rate of cryoablation has been 15 percent, compared to a range of 30-60 percent for surgery or radiation therapy.
Dr. Duke K. Bahn, chief of radiology at Crittenton Hospital in Rochester, who presented the study, also said incontinence rates were 3 percent as a result of the procedure.
This compares to a rate of 30 percent for radical surgery and 10 percent for radiation therapy, he noted.
Despite the success of the freezing technique, he cautioned that the procedure must be done with the utmost care by well-trained health care professionals.
If the ultrasound probe is not placed in exactly the right location, he said, organs such as the rectum or bladder could be harmed significantly and major surgery might be needed, Dr. Bahn said. . When performed correctly, nitrogen or argon gas is circulated into the prostate and a kind of ice ball covers the organ and the cancer.
The technique kills the cancer cells and shrinks the prostate, effectively removing it without the need for invasive surgery.
Dr. Bahn said that the ultrasound-guided cryoablation study involved nearly 600 prostate cancer patients and has followed their progress for three years.
He also said that a five-year followup will be needed to more fully assess the effectiveness of this treatment.
The American Roentgen Ray Society, with some 12,000 members, is the first and oldest radiological society in the United States. The society is dedicated to the advancement of medicine through the science of radiology.
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