A Pennsylvania researcher reported Tuesday that freezing tumors in prostate cancer patients can be an effective method of treating cases once considered hopeless.
The technique, known as cryosurgery, has also been successful in treating liver cancer, said Dr. Gary Onik, an interventional radiologist at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh.The procedure involves using ultrasound to guide a tube through the skin into the tumor. Liquid nitrogen is then administered to freeze and destroy cancerous tissue.
Traditional surgery generally leaves cancer in 30 percent to 50 percent of patients, while radiation treatments cure only 10 percent to 40 percent of patients, Onik said.
But nearly 80 percent of prostate cancer patients who underwent the cryosurgery technique stayed disease-free for three months or more, he said.
"This is significant improvement since, with this technique, we can now destroy tumors in patients who have no other option for treatment," Onik said. "These patients have no residual cancer following cryosurgery treatment."
The technique, which has been used on 94 patients so far, reduces the incidence of impotence and incontinence, can be repeated if the cancer recurs, has fewer side effects and complications and requires a shorter hospital stay, he said.
"Cryosurgery is not new," Onik said. "Dermatologists have relied on it for decades to destroy tumors on the body's surface. Today's sophisticated imaging technologies now make it possible for us to use cryosurgery to destroy tumors inside the body."
Onik presented his findings at the 78th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America, which meets through Thursday.
In other studies released Tuesday:
- British researchers said laser-generated heat can destroy inoperable liver cancers.
-Canadian researchers reported analysis of normal mammograms may be used to predict a woman's future risk of developing breast cancer.