
Is HIFU and Ultherapy the same thing?
High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is a prostate cancer treatment that uses the energy of highly focused ultrasound to pinpoint, heat and kill prostate cancer cells. Unlike radiation and surgery, HIFU is non-invasive (no incisions) outpatient procedure that leaves healthy tissue unharmed. Appointments & Access.
What is the best way to treat prostate cancer?
What are the benefits of HIFU for prostate cancer treatment? Outpatient, same-day procedure Non-Invasive – no surgery or blood loss Radiation-free …
What are the best herbs for prostate cancer?
Initially, HIFU was used to perform whole-gland ablations for prostate cancer. While this application was successful, there was increasing interest in limiting prostate cancer treatment-related side effects by restricting the amount of the prostate that was treated. This treatment approach is termed focal therapy.
How many HIFU treatments are necessary?
A high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) procedure is a technique approved by the FDA to remove prostate tissue. Though it hasn't been approved for the treatment of prostate cancer in …

How long does HIFU prostate treatment last?
The HIFU procedure typically lasts between 1-4 hours, depending on the size of the prostate, and is either done under general or epidural anesthesia. During the procedure a suprapubic or foley catheter will be put into place to help with urination, and will typically stay in place for 1-3 weeks.
What are the side effects of HIFU for prostate cancer?
The most common side effects are urinary problems and difficulty getting or keeping an erection (erectile dysfunction). Having HIFU more than once may increase your risk of urinary problems, but it doesn't appear to increase your risk of other side effects.
What are the side effects of HIFU?
The HIFU beam uses highly-targeted heat to the prostate and may cause some issues as well....Side effects you might experience right after focal HIFU include:blood in your urine (wee)blood from your stool (poo)blood in your semen.fever.swelling in the testicles.
What is the cost of HIFU treatment for prostate cancer?
Additionally, the cost of the HIFU machine ranges from $450,000 to $700,000, adding to the overall costs of the technology relative to other treatment options.Aug 19, 2016
Does prostate cancer return after HIFU?
Median time to post-HIFU recurrence was 16 months. The MRI-biopsy demonstrated that 56% had in-field recurrence, while 21% had an out-of-field recurrence, and 23% had both types of recurrences.
Is HIFU the best treatment for prostate cancer?
A high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) procedure is a technique approved by the FDA to remove prostate tissue. Though it hasn't been approved for the treatment of prostate cancer in the U.S., it is being used in clinical trials to treat it. Researchers are still figuring out how well it works and its side effects.Mar 13, 2022
What happens after prostate HIFU treatment?
Even when side effects do occur after HIFU therapy, they are usually mild and resolve on their own within about 4 – 6 weeks and – in most cases – much sooner....Does HIFU cause any side effects?Frequent urination.Burning on urination.Difficulty voiding.Decreased erections.Blood per rectum.Prostatitis.Dec 31, 2021
What should PSA be after HIFU?
The median PSA level after HIFU was 9.91 (range, 0–268.9) ng/mL, and the median PSA nadir was 0.03 (range, 0.03–3.31) ng/mL.Apr 19, 2011
What should my PSA be after a HIFU procedure?
After whole-gland HIFU, the mean prostate-specific antigen (PSA) nadir was found to be 0.4 to 1.95 ng/mL and the mean time to PSA nadir was 2.4 to 5.4 months. The rate of positive biopsy after HIFU was 4.5% to 91.1%.Oct 9, 2020
Who is a candidate for HIFU?
Ideal candidates for HIFU are men who: Are hoping to preserve continence and sexual function. Have satisfactory sexual function. Have cancer visible on MRI and confined to the prostate.Nov 7, 2017
What is the least invasive treatment for prostate cancer?
Minimally Invasive Treatment: Options Currently Available Minimally invasive treatments for patients with clinically localized prostate cancer include laparoscopic and robotic radical prostatectomy, brachytherapy, and cryosurgical ablation of the prostate.
Does insurance cover HIFU treatment for prostate cancer?
No commercial insurance plan has a policy that covers HIFU, in fact most plans have a policy that states it is not covered. HIFU Prostate Services is out-of-network for 100% of insurance carriers in the US and will not be able to assist you in filing for reimbursement.
What is a HIFU?
HIFU Clinical Update (PDF) The basic concept of how HIFU targets, burns and destroys specific prostate tissue is similar to how a magnifying glass can use the sun’s rays of light to burn a precise hole in a leaf at the point of intersection. Similar principles apply to HIFU.
How does HIFU work?
HIFU destroys prostate cancer through the delivery of precise and focused sound waves to a targeted spot of diseased prostate tissue. This technology uses ultrasound energy, not radiation, to destroy the targeted tissue. The Ultrasound energy, or sound waves, is transmitted through the rectal wall and focused at desired locations within ...
What is the purpose of a HIFU transducer?
Instead of using light as the source of energy, HIFU uses sound, and instead of a magnifying glass, HIFU uses a transducer. The sound waves that are aimed at the prostate tissue, rapidly increase tissue temperature, destroying only the cancerous lesions and protecting the healthy surrounding tissue.
What is a high intensity focused ultrasound?
What is high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU)? High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound or HIFU is an FDA-approved, minimally invasive procedure for the treatment of prostate cancer that offers personalized treatment and dramatically reduced side effects.
Who are the UCLA Urologists?
Eligible patients have low-to-intermediate risk prostate cancer, with prostates that are not too enlarged. UCLA Urologists, Drs. Leonard Marks and Allan Pantuck, were the study investigators for the first U.S.-based HIFU clinical trails that began in March 2009. UCLA became the lead enroller nationwide for that study.
Provide a little history: How did HIFU progress to a treatment for primary prostate cancer?
The first HIFU prostate cancer clinical trials, completed in the mid-1990s, showed that HIFU could ablate prostate tissue successfully. This finding led to additional studies, and HIFU ultimately entered clinical practice around the world during the following decade.
What type of patient is particularly well suited for HIFU?
The ideal candidate for focal therapy typically has intermediate-risk prostate cancer located in only one area of the prostate. This location is determined by prostate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and targeted prostate biopsy.
What are the major contraindications to HIFU?
There are a few limitations to HIFU. The first is prostate volume or size. HIFU treatment is delivered through a probe in the rectum, and the treatment can only reach so far away from the rectum. If patients have large prostates and anterior tumors, the energy may not reach anterior enough to provide effective treatment and negative margins.
How do you counsel patients who receive HIFU? What is the typical side effect and complication profile? What is the typical recovery?
Overall the focal HIFU procedure is very well tolerated. HIFU is done as an outpatient procedure with a same-day discharge. A Foley catheter is placed during the procedure and is usually left in place for 5 to 7 days following the procedure to allow post-treatment swelling of the prostate to subside.
Briefly, what are the logistics of the delivery of HIFU?
The HIFU procedure is done while the patient is under general anesthesia. Once the patient is completely anesthetized, a special ultrasound probe is placed in the rectum. There are no incisions or even any needles used. This ultrasound probe is used to both image the prostate and deliver the treatment.
How do you see HIFU playing a role in prostate cancer treatment over the next 10 years?
I see focal therapy in general becoming an option for more men in the next 10 years as more data supporting its use emerge and more providers become trained in the techniques. HIFU will definitely continue to be one of the main technologies used in prostate cancer focal therapy.
What is HIFU ultrasound?
What Are the Side Effects? A high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) procedure is a technique approved by the FDA to remove prostate tissue. Though it hasn't been approved for the treatment of prostate cancer in the U.S., it is being used in clinical trials to treat it. Researchers are still figuring out how well it works and its side effects.
How does HIFU work?
Instead of light rays, though, HIFU uses sound waves that a doctor points through the wall of your rectum -- the bottom part of your large intestine. They'll direct the waves at your cancer cells. The sound waves heat up to temperatures as high as 90 C (194 F) and can kill cancer cells in just a few seconds.
How to catch urine during a prostate biopsy?
The doctor will thread a small tube called a catheter through the head of your penis and into your bladder to catch urine during the procedure. Your doctor will put an ultrasound probe into your rectum. It's a small instrument like the ones used for prostate biopsies. The probe may have one or two crystals inside.
How does sound waves work in prostate?
Sound waves from a crystal bounce back to a computer to make a picture of the prostate gland. This will show where to send the sound waves. A crystal sends focused sound waves through the rectal wall and into the gland. An MRI might be used to keep track of the treatment.
Can a prostate surgeon cut you open?
You may hear your doctor call it "minimally invasive," which means a surgeon doesn't have to cut you open. Men with cancer that hasn't spread beyond the prostate may get the surgery. Your doctor may suggest it either before you've tried other treatments or after radiation therapy that didn't help.
