Targeted prostate cancer treatment cuts risk of side effects, study suggests

A long‑term NHS study led by Imperial College London has found that focal therapy, a minimally invasive prostate cancer treatment that uses high‑intensity ultrasound or freezing cryotherapy, is just as effective as surgery or radiotherapy while producing far fewer side effects. The research followed roughly 3,500 men who received the therapy for a decade, supplying the long‑term data that medical regulators had previously said was lacking. Researchers described the results as “excellent” and said they are likely to strengthen the case for making focal therapy more widely available. Nearly all participants had intermediate or high‑risk prostate cancer, yet after ten years only two had died from the disease. Outcomes matched those of surgery or radiotherapy, but the risk of side effects such as urine leakage or loss of sexual function was less than half. Professor Hashim Ahmed, consultant urologist at Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and joint senior author of the study, said the findings showed that “focal therapy delivers fantabulous long-term cancer power across a wide range of patients.” He added, “It makes a compelling case for more centres to offer this treatment.” Focal therapy has existed for more than