Intraoperative Imaging Blog

Treatment
Treatment may be by various techniques such as surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, or hormone therapy or a combination. The age and general health status affected both the extent of the spread, the appearance of the tissues examined and the response to initial treatment are vital in determining the therapeutic outcome.

If the cancer causes no symptoms, it grows slowly and is confined to a small area of the prostate cancer, you should keep a watchful waiting. This type of treatment, when untreated, is reserved for people over 80 years. Because prostate cancer often grows very slowly, if the patient is older or have other serious diseases, there needs to be treated.

Cancer will be observed and monitored. Measurements are normally carried in the blood PSA and digital rectal exam every six months, possibly with ultrasound-guided biopsy annually. If the patient develops any symptoms of cancer grows faster, you have to consider moving to an active treatment.

Radical prostatectomy is surgery performed to cure prostate cancer in people under 70 years. Is advised when prostate cancer has not exceeded the limits of the prostate gland in this operation, the urologist is cured by removing the prostate gland more peripheral tissues. The technique is laparotomy although for some 10 years as practiced by laparoscopy, less invasive and equally effective. A successful innovation is the use of the Da Vinci robot, because it avoids complications such as bleeding, incontinence and impotence.

Radiation therapy uses high energy radiation or particles to kill cancer cells. The radiation is low-grade cancer that is confined to the prostate or only has invaded surrounding tissue. If the disease is more advanced, radiation used to shrink the tumor and provide relief of symptoms. This technique is used in patients in whom surgery is not recommended or this does not give the expected result.

Brachytherapy is a form of treatment with radiotherapy in which are placed radiation sources that emit the drug inside the tumor to the treatment area. It has a great advantage, that radiation curing a cancer usually come from outside and have to pass through tissue to reach the site to be treated, however in this way because these tissues are not radiate from within because we have radiation. Remote control is a treatment to the site where interested

Cryotherapy, or cryogenic surgery, used to freeze the cells through a metal probe to treat the prostate affected. This probe is inserted into the prostate through an incision in the skin of the perineum ultrasound guided through the rectum. Accurate epidural or general anesthesia during this procedure.

The appearance of prostate tissue in ultrasound images changes to be frozen to prevent damage to the tissue side, the urologist observed ultrasound images during this procedure which requires placing a catheter through an incision in the abdomen , into the bladder to empty it of urine, while the prostate is inflamed by the freeze. The catheter is removed after one or two weeks. After this procedure, there may be some discomfort in the area where the probes were inserted. The patient should be admitted to hospital one or two days.

Cryosurgery is very aggressive, has reduced blood loss, short hospital stays, shorter recovery period and less pain than radical prostatectomy. But far less is known effectiveness of this technique in the long term.

Other treatment approved and with a high profile technology is “HIFU” to treat localized prostate cancer, and by high intensity focused ultrasound (in English “HIFU”) free energy from an endorectal probe. These waves travel through the rectal wall without damaging it and focus and attack the prostate. This focus produces an instant and intense heat that causes irreversible destruction of the target area without damaging surrounding tissue. The treatment can be performed under epidural anesthesia.

Then there is the possibility of using therapies such as hormone androgen blockade, which is to eliminate or reduce the production of male hormones had a significant impact on the prostate such as testosterone, and therefore may be useful both in early and advanced stages as technique or adjunctive therapy to other treatments. However there is no unanimity among the medical services when assessing and position on this technique.

Sometimes chemotherapy is used if prostate cancer has advanced and has spread outside the prostate gland and hormone treatment does not effect. In the “systemic chemotherapy” drugs are administered intravenously or orally, that enter the bloodstream and reach all parts of the body, making this treatment to be effective in cancers with metastasis but also generates many side effects when attacking also some healthy cells. Chemotherapy is not indicated as a treatment in case of an incipient prostate cancer.

Equally important are the treatments to reduce pain, improve quality of life and address the symptoms of poor health of patients with prostate cancer. This product is designed for clinical or pharmacological or other related disease, such as opioid analgesics derived from that ease pain and does not have to be addictive. Then there is an active ingredient based on zoledronic acid which is intended to control, mitigate and prevent bone metastases, which can also be done through the use of steroids such as dexamethasone and others, to relieve bone pain.

Some studies have shown that patients who receive a good analgesic treatment, they can live longer and better.