The following is a summary of “Oncological results and cancer control definition in focal therapy for Prostate Cancer: a systematic review,” published in the July 2023 issue of Oncology by Nicoletti et al.

Focal therapy (FT) is a promising treatment for localized prostate cancer, but more research is needed to confirm its effectiveness. Researchers performed a prospective study to review the literature and evaluate the oncological profile of FT modalities and define cancer control for FT. 

A total of 124 studies, reporting data on more than 8,000 patients treated with FT, were included. Overall, 40 papers were on High Intensity Focal Ultrasound (HIFU), 24 on Focal Cryotherapy, 13 on Irreversible Electroporation (IRE), 11 on Focal brachytherapy, 10 on Focal Laser Ablation (FLA), 8 on Photo-Dynamic Therapy (PDT), 3 on Microwave ablation, 3 on Robotic Partial Prostatectomy, 2 on bipolar Radio Frequency Ablation (bRFA), 1 on Prostatic Artery Embolization (PAE) and 9 comparative papers. 

Overall, the Biochemical Recurrence (BCR) rate ranged from 0% (Focal Brachytherapy) to 67.5% (HIFU); the Salvage treatment rate ranged from 1% (IRE) to 54% (HIFU) considering re-treatment with FT and from 0% (Focal Brachytherapy) to 66.7% considering standard radical treatments. There is no univocal definition of cancer control. However, the “Phoenix criteria” for BCR were the most commonly used.

The study concluded that FT is a promising treatment for prostate cancer, but more research is needed to define cancer control and standardize reporting.

Source: nature.com/articles/s41391-023-00699-7