A new treatment option for prostate cancer has allowed patients to go about their normal lives in a day or two after treatment.
What's more the non-invasive magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound method offers little complications.
Since the pilot last August, seven patients with low risk prostate
cancer were put through the treatment option by the Singapore General
Hospital (SGH) and Singapore's National Cancer Centre (NCCS).
The non-invasive surgery treatment option allows doctors to visualize the tumour and surrounding tissue.
High levels of heat will then be concentrated on a target site to destroy the cancerous tumour.
Experts say this treatment option is so precise that it can treat sites
as small as a millimeter, which is about half the size of a grain of
rice.
Existing treatment options for prostate cancer include the surgical removal of the prostate gland and radiation therapy.
However, Head and Senior Consultant of the Department of Urology at SGH,
Associate Professor Christopher Cheng, says they have lasting side
effects that significantly impact the quality of life of patients.
These side effects include incontinence and impotence.
Phase 2 trials started last month and the option is expected to be made commonly available to patients in about two years.
-- 938Live