Cryotherapy for prostate cancer
Cryosurgery-prostate cancer; Cryoablation-prostate cancer
Cryotherapy uses very cold temperatures to freeze and kill prostate cancer cells. The goal of cryosurgery is to destroy the entire prostate gland and possibly surrounding tissue.
Cryosurgery is generally not used as a first treatment for prostate cancer.
What Happens During Cryotherapy
Before the procedure, you will be given medicine so that you do not feel pain. You may receive:
- A sedative to make you drowsy and numbing medicine on your perineum. This is the area between the anus and scrotum.
-
Anesthesia. With
spinal anesthesia
, you will be drowsy but awake, and numb below the waist. With
general anesthesia
, you will be asleep and pain-free.
Spinal anesthesia
Spinal and epidural anesthesia are medicines that numb parts of your body to block pain. They are given through shots in or around the spine....
General anesthesia
General anesthesia is treatment with certain medicines that puts you into a deep sleep so you do not feel pain during surgery. After you receive the...
First, you will get a catheter that will stay in place for about 3 weeks after the procedure.
Catheter
A urinary catheter is a tube placed in the body to drain and collect urine from the bladder.
Then, the doctor makes small cuts to place several hollow needles into your perineum.
- Ultrasound is used to guide the needles to the prostate gland.
- Then, very cold gas passes through the needles, creating ice balls that destroy the prostate gland.
- Warm salt water will flow through the catheter to keep your urethra (the tube from the bladder to outside the body) from freezing.
Cryosurgery is most often a 2-hour outpatient procedure. Some people may need to stay in the hospital overnight.
When Cryosurgery is Used to Treat Prostate Cancer
This therapy is not as commonly used and is not as well accepted as other treatments for prostate cancer. Doctors do not know for certain how well cryosurgery works over time. There is not enough data to compare it with standard prostatectomy , radiation treatment , or brachytherapy .
Prostatectomy
Radical prostatectomy (prostate removal) is surgery to remove all of the prostate gland and some of the tissue around it. It is done to treat prosta...
Radiation treatment
Radiation therapy uses high-powered x-rays, particles, or radioactive seeds to kill cancer cells.
Brachytherapy
Brachytherapy is a procedure to implant radioactive seeds (pellets) into the prostate gland to kill prostate cancer cells. The seeds may give off hi...
It can only treat prostate cancer that has not spread beyond the prostate. Men who cannot have surgery because of their age or other health problems may have cryosurgery instead. It also may be used if cancer comes back after other treatments.
Prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is cancer that starts in the prostate gland. The prostate is a small, walnut-shaped structure that makes up part of a man's reproduc...
It is generally not helpful for men with very large prostate glands.
Side Effects
Possible short-term side effects of cryotherapy for prostate cancer include:
- Blood in the urine
- Trouble passing urine
- Swelling of the penis or scrotum
- Problems controlling your bladder (more likely if you have had radiation therapy also)
Possible long-term problems include:
- Erection problems in nearly all people
- Damage to the rectum
- A tube that forms between the rectum and the bladder, called a fistula (this is very rare)
- Problems with passing or controlling urine.
References
Cryosurgery in Cancer Treatment: Questions and Answers. National Cancer Institutes. www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/types/surgery/cryosurgery-fact-sheet. Accessed August 31, 2015.
Cryosurgery for Prostate Cancer. American Cancer Society. www.cancer.org/cancer/prostatecancer/detailedguide/prostate-cancer-treating-cryosurgery. Accessed August 31, 2015.
Horwich A, Parker C, de Reijke T, Kataja V; ESMO Guidelines Working Group. Prostate cancer: ESMO clinical practice guidelines for diagnosis, treatment and follow-up. Ann Oncol . 2013 Oct;24 Suppl 6:vi106-14. PMID: 23813930 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23813930 .
Mohler JL, Kantoff PW, Armstrong AJ, et al. Prostate cancer, version 2.2014. J Natl Compr Canc Netw . 2014. May;12(5):686-718. PMID: 24812137 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24812137 .
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Review Date: 9/13/2015
Reviewed By: Todd Gersten, MD, Hematology/Oncology, Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute, Wellington, FL. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Isla Ogilvie, PhD, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.