Current research into focal therapies
There is new research emerging about the effectiveness of focal therapy all the time. Below, we discuss some trials which are currently running.
Index study
The Index study is a trial for men with medium to high risk localised prostate cancer. 140 men were treated with HIFU and will be monitored for at least 10 years. The goal of the trial is to understand the failure-free survival. This means how many people didn’t need any additional treatment, or die of their prostate cancer, 10 years after their treatment.
Chronos A and B
Chronos A and B are trials that are comparing whole gland treatments, like prostatectomy, which treatments that preserved the prostate, like focal therapy. They are studying men diagnosed with intermediate risk prostate cancer at six centres across the UK.
Chronos A is a randomised trial that will compare three whole prostate treatments (prostatectomy, radiotherapy and brachytherapy) with two focal therapies (HIFU and cryotherapy) in 1190 men. Chronos B will compare focal therapy only with focal therapy given alongside two different hormone therapies in 1260 men.
The goal of the trials is to understand the failure-free survival at 10 years.
Both trials have finished recruitment, so will be starting shortly. We’ll be covering all their results on our research news page.
Learn more about the Chronos trials
Listen to the Focal Therapy Clinic specialist Tim Dudderidge discuss his involvement in the Chronos trials
Other trials
At The Focal Therapy Clinic, we are honoured to play a role in this through participation of our consultations and patients in this research. You can read more about the latest research below:
Any questions?
If you’ve got any questions about your prostate cancer diagnosis or want to know more about HIFU or NanoKnife, don’t hesitate to get in touch with our friendly, knowledgeable team.