Targeted Anterior Gland Focal Therapy-a Novel Treatment Option for a Better Defined Disease.

The goal of focal therapy is to achieve long-term oncological control by eradicating only the clinically significant focus/foci of cancer within the prostate, while preserving erectile function and continence. Anterior prostate cancers may have a PZ or TZ origin and share commonalities in location and biology. While anterior prostate cancers previously constituted a diagnostic blind spot in the prostate and were often not detected or discovered late, with the rapid dissemination of advanced imaging and biopsy techniques, they can now be identified at an earlier, organ-confined stage due to MR imaging and targeted biopsies. Due to their anterior location, they represent a therapeutic target that allows for thorough ablation of the cancer focus/foci with an adequate margin while remaining far from the neurovascular bundles bilaterally. However, the TZ origin cancers are mostly anterior to the distal urethra close to the apex and the striated sphincter. Men having early stage anterior cancers may represent good candidates to achieve a balance between oncological control and functional preservation with focal therapy. Thus, this class of tumor based on location, along with the proposed treatment, represents a novel form of targeted image-guided therapy.

Duke Scholars

Author Thomas James Polascik Urology