news
Prostate wave
treatment
sounds
promising
Technique may give cancer patients same benefits
as other options, with less incontinence, impotence.
D
octors have said a sound wave technique being used to
treat prostate cancer could be as effective as surgery or
radiotherapy, and cause fewer side effects.
Tim Dudderidge, a consultant urological surgeon at
Southampton General Hospital, is among a small group of
clinicians in the UK performing high-intensity focused ultrasound
(HIFU) on patients.
The procedure, which allows patients to leave hospital the same
day, involves surgeons focusing high-frequency sound waves
directly onto tumours in the prostate gland at 80–100° Celsius,
without affecting surrounding healthy tissue.
Although conventional treatments, such as surgery to remove
the whole prostate or radiotherapy, can effectively treat tumours,
patients often suffer side effects such as incontinence or impotence.
In a study led by University College Hospital (UCH) in London,
researchers followed 625 men between 2004 and 2015 with tumours
in one part of the prostate that had not spread beyond the gland.
The results, presented by UCH consultant urological surgeon
Hashim Ahmed at a meeting of the European Association of
Urology in Munich, found 93 per cent of patients who underwent
HIFU alone remained cancer-free without any need for surgery or
radiotherapy five years after treatment.
In addition, only 1 to 2 per cent of men who underwent HIFU
experienced long-term urinary incontinence, compared with
10–20 per cent of men who have had surgery or radiotherapy; just
15 per cent suffered erectile dysfunction, compared with
30–60 per cent of surgical patients.
Prostate cancer mainly affects men over 50 and is the most
common type of cancer in men.
Dudderidge, who co-authored the study, said: “The results
of this study are impressive and have the potential to transform
prostate cancer treatment for many men in the future.” n
Top 5 causes of deaTh
Asthma hits
women hardest
1. Heart disease (20,173 deaths)
2. Dementia (11,965)
3. Stroke (10,765)
4. Lung cancer (8251)
5. Chronic lower respiratory
disease (7810)
Older females are up to
three times more likely
than men to die from it.
W
omen over 55 continue to
be most at risk of dying
from asthma in Australia, the
latest data has shown.
Those aged 55 to 74 were twice as likely
to die as their male counterparts, while
those over 75 were almost three times
more likely than men their age to die
from asthma.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)
data highlights the need for older women
to take action to manage their condition
as asthma deaths are largely preventable,
National Asthma Council Australia said.
“Asthma can’t be cured, but it can be
controlled with asthma [preventing and
relieving] medication and by following
differences beTween
The sexes
an up-to-date action plan, prepared with
your doctor,” said the council’s chair, Dr
Jonathan Burdon. “We know women have
slig