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Cancer Treatment Revolutionary new prostate cancer therapy without surgery
Researchers found that a new treatment method can effectively kill prostate cancer cells. The healthy tissue is still preserved. The treatment is complete without surgery.
Researchers at University College London Hospital (UCHL) found that vascular-targeted photodynamic therapy (VTP) kills prostate cancer cells without the need for surgery. The physicians published the results of their study in the journal "The Lancet Oncology".
Prostate cancer threatens the lives of many men worldwide. Physicians now discovered a new kind of treatment for this deadly threat. With the help of a photosensitive drug and a laser good results could be achieved in the treatment. (Image: royaltystockphoto / fotolia.com) Combined treatment with laser beams and medication leads to success
The current clinical study has shown that the treatment with a photosensitive drug, which is injected into the bloodstream, can be used to eradicate the tumor tissue in the prostate with the help of a laser, the authors explain. The drug, called WST11, is derived from bacteria from the lower regions of the ocean. The bacteria can convert light into energy very efficiently. This feature was used to develop WST11. The drug is able to kill existing cancer cells by releasing free radicals when it is activated by the light of a laser, say the scientists.
Result a huge success
In 49 percent of patients with VTP treatment, a complete remission occurred. In the control group, the value for comparison was only 13.5 percent, explain the researchers. This result was really a huge success for the treatment of prostate cancer. In the UK alone, almost 11,000 men die of this disease each year. Prostate cancer is diagnosed daily in 130 men.
Removal or radiation often leads to erectile dysfunction and incontinence
Only six percent of all patients in the study needed radical therapy. Thirty percent of the patients were normally subjected to so-called active surveillance. The radical therapy is used only in high-risk cancer patients and involves the removal or irradiation of the entire prostate, explain the researchers. But this could lead to significant side effects. These include, for example, lifelong erectile dysfunction and incontinence.
Side effects of VTP treatment are short-term
VTP treatment also led to short-term urinary tract problems and erectile problems. These could be settled within three months. After two years, there were no significant side effects left, the researchers explain.
VTP treatment shows good results
In 1975, almost every case of breast cancer was treated with a radical mastectomy. Since then, the treatment methods have improved significantly. For this reason, the entire breast is rarely removed in this day and age, say the authors. In the treatment of prostate cancer, physicians still often remove or irradiate the entire prostate. The success of the new treatment method is therefore very good news. In the case of patients treated with VTP, the likelihood of the cancer becoming more dangerous was three times lower, say the scientists.
New way of treatment is effective and safe
The study was conducted at 47 locations in ten European countries. The fact that the treatment has been so successfully performed by non-specialized centers in various health systems is truly remarkable, explains author Professor Mark Emberton. New procedures are usually associated with a learning curve, but the lack of complications in the study suggests that this type of treatment is safe, effective, and relatively easy to scale. Technological advances could help in the future to further enhance the effectiveness of treatment, adds Professor Emberton.
Treatment should lead to a significantly increased remission rate
Prostate cancer can be successfully detected with the help of MRI scans and targeted biopsies. This is a targeted approach to diagnosis and treatment. "This will allow us to better identify the men who benefit from using VTP," the authors explain. With this approach, treating physicians in their view should be able to achieve a significantly increased remission rate in the future. (As)