Thank you for posting Clare.
Professor ME is widely regarded as the foremost authority in the UK (and possibly further afield) on focal treatment and is very enthusiastic about focal ablation which can be delivered in several ways. What he said about ti being experimental and mainly administered in trials with 'experimental' mainly being attributable to the long term aspect it not questioned. However, I found it surprising that a questioner tended to take a swipe at him for producing so many papers and articles and as I understand it, saying that some of the best papers were from lesser reported authors. Furthermore, among other things the questioner suggested that HIFU, (which seems to be favoured by Professor E), has a drawback in as much as it makes prostatectomy more difficult should this be required if the HIFU is unsuccessful. So like other forms of treatment there can be downsides as well as advantages.
HIFU seems a good salvage option for failed RT, particularly where the cancer is confined to one side of the prostate but how good this or other focal treatment will prove in the long term will depend on it's take up as a primary treatment and the passage of time.
Barry |