The Lyx Urology center in Madrid, is a pioneer in the use of focal therapy with high intensity ultrasound (HIFU) to treat prostate cancer. This technique, not very widespread in Spain, allows to destroy the focus of the tumor by concentrating heat without the need to remove the gland.
In the treatment of prostate cancer, each lesion must be subjected to a different degree of intensity depending on the tumor volume and its location within the prostate gland. High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is applied transrectally. In just a few seconds, the temperature increases to at least 90o at the focal point, destroying it without affecting other tissues. The procedure is painless and lasts from 1 to 4 hours.
HIFU is the treatment of first choice in those patients who are candidates for focal therapy, since it assures the highest precision in the control of the area to be treated. In addition, the fact of preserving the prostate ensures that the functions of the gland are not affected, thus avoiding problems such as urinary incontinence or erectile dysfunction.
Focused high-intensity ultrasound (HIFU) allows the focal treatment of prostate cancer through focused high-intensity ultrasound that destroys the cancer cells of the gland by heat without damaging the surrounding tissues.
This technology has been used for a few years to relieve metastatic bone pain and treat other types of tumors such as those found in the breast or pancreas. Our center Lyx Urology of Madrid is a pioneer in Spain in the application of HIFU for the treatment of prostate cancer, having obtained successful results in many patients.
HIFU is a minimally invasive treatment that is performed trans rectally. It does not require needles or cause wounds during its application.
When treating a patient with focal HIFU, he / she should have been previously diagnosed with a prostate tumor and the lesion should be visible in the multi parametric magnetic resonance (FOCALYX® DX). Next, a multidisciplinary team of radiologists and urologists plan the treatment strategy, depending on the size of the lesion (three-dimensional volume), location of the lesion and size of the prostate (FOCALYX® BX).
The ultrasound waves are focused towards the area with cancer inside the gland from a transducer that enters the rectum. With extreme precision, the waves generate temperatures of 80-100 °, instantly destroying cancer cells.
It is a non-invasive therapeutic option that allows a precise local treatment in a single session, repeatable if necessary and performed as ambulatory (without admission) and with minimal effects.
Your doctor can help determine if you are a good candidate. HIFU can be performed on all types of localized prostate cancer (which has not spread outside the prostate).
The treatment is done through the rectum, which is in contact with the back area of the prostate. For this reason, based on the “À la carte” model of the Monstouris Institute in Paris, the focal HIFU is the technique of choice to treat lesions located in the back area of the prostate.
If there is more than one localized lesion in different parts of the gland, thanks to the fusion of the MRI image with real-time ultrasound, more than one area can be treated in the same procedure based on the map generated by FOCALYX® BX .
