“I now think of prostate cancer as a story of success for many men, given the advancements in both research and treatment options over the past decade,” Behfar Ehdaie, MD, MPH, told The ASCO Post. Dr. Ehdaie is lead author of a study that found MRI-guided focused ultrasound focal therapy is safe and effective among men with grade group 2 or 3 prostate cancer. The study was published in The Lancet Oncology.¹ Dr. Ehdaie is Associate Professor, Urology Service, Department of Surgery, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York.

“We now have a full complement of treatments, from low-risk disease to very high–risk localized prostate cancer,” Dr. Ehdaie stated, “and the inclusion of focal therapy now provides a treatment option for men who may previously been monitored with active surveillance and have small changes in their cancer.” With MRI-guided focused ultrasound focal therapy, “there is a treatment option available that will focus on the area where those changes have occurred in their prostate glands,” Dr. Ehdaie said.

“As we continue to broaden the group of men with prostate cancer eligible for active surveillance, we have to be mindful that some men with intermediate-risk prostate cancer selected for focal therapy may also be candidates for active surveillance,” Dr. Ehdaie commented. “Active surveillance remains a significant and important management strategy in prostate cancer. And it will need to continue to be presented as a viable and preferred option for low-risk prostate cancer.” 

DISCLOSURE: Dr. Ehdaie has reported being an unpaid consultant to Insightec and serving as a paid consultant to Myriad Genetics.

REFERENCE

1. Ehdaie B, Tempany CM, Holland F, et al: MRI-guided focused ultrasound focal therapy for patients with intermediate-risk prostate cancer: A phase 2b, multicentre study. Lancet Oncol 23:910-918, 2022.