Focused Ultrasound Surgery Foundation releases men's heath update on prostate cancer, BPH treatments

The Focused Ultrasound Surgery Foundation has released a special men's heath update in its February 2011 online newsletter.

According to the update, tremendous progress being made in developing new minimally-invasive and highly precise treatments for two conditions that afflict millions of men worldwide - prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).

By offering increased precision, the new treatments are expected to greatly reduce incontinence and impotence, which are common side effects associated with prostate procedures.

Through a series of video interviews and accompanying text (see links below), the update describes clinical trials in which new devices are treating early stage prostate cancer patients:

 Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto has completed the first clinical trial of its new transurethral device and is planning several more in-house patient studies.

 In coming months, Profound Medical, Inc. will begin enrolling patients at two U.S. sites in a clinical trial of its transurethral device, which is based on thermal ultrasound technology licensed from Sunnybrook.

 InSightec, Ltd. is enrolling patients in an international, multi-center clinical trial of its new prostate treatment system, which uses a transrectal applicator to deliver MR-guided focused ultrasound treatments.

The report also spotlights preclinical research projects that are using MR-guided focused ultrasound to treat BPH and to improve delivery of chemotherapy to advanced prostate tumors:

 Collaborators at Stanford University and the University of California San Francisco have developed a transurethral MR-guided focused ultrasound device that could revolutionize the treatment of BPH.

 Foundation-funded research at Fox Chase Cancer Center has shown that pulsed MR-guided focused ultrasound enhances the delivery of chemotherapy to prostate tumors.

Source: Focused Ultrasound Surgery Foundation