The prestigious European Association of Urology (EAU) has recognised the important role of cryotherapy in the treatment of cancer of the prostate, by including the industrial gas-consuming therapy for the first time in its new guidelines on prostate cancer.
Launched at the EAU’s recent 22nd annual Congress in Berlin, the guidelines support the use of cryosurgical ablation of the prostate (CSAP) as a possible alternative treatment method for patients with clinically localised cancer of the prostate.
All other minimally invasive treatment options, such as high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU), radiofrequency interstitial tumour ablation (RITA), microwaves and electro surgery, are all still considered to be experimental or investigational by the EAU.
Cryotherapy or cryoablation however, finds favour from the EAU and involves the use of hollow needles or cryoprobes through which cooled, thermally conductive, gases and fluids are circulated – most likely involving liquid nitrogen.
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