Medical Suitability
At The Focal Therapy Clinic, our world-class clinical team has expertise in conventional treatment options as well as focal therapy, so they can guide you towards the right treatment that will work for you.
Before you can have any focal therapy treatment, our expert team will review your existing medical information, including your diagnosis details, medical history, mpMRI scan and biopsy results. This will help them determine if focal therapy is the best treatment for your prostate cancer.
Even if it’s not, they can talk you through your other treatment options so that you can make an informed decision about the next steps in your care.
Which therapy is suitable?
We offer two main types of focal therapy:
HIFU is usually recommended for men with early to moderate-stage cancer in the lower part of the prostate gland, which is where most prostate cancers occur.
NanoKnife is recommended for people with cancer in the upper areas of the prostate that are hard to reach with HIFU, and which were previously untreatable with focal therapy.
Watch one of our consultants, Dr Raj Nigam, explain the differences: Is NanoKnife better than HIFU?
“Well, if you’re deemed suitable for the procedure, it really is a no-brainer.”
Brian Bishop
The Focal Therapy Clinic patient
Gleason score
The Gleason score, often now called your Grade Group, is used to evaluate how aggressive your cancer is, and how likely it is to spread beyond your prostate. A pathologist will assess your Grade Group when they look at your biopsies. It can be invaluable when it comes to deciding on your treatment.
Learn more about how your Gleason score is calculated and what is means for your treatment options.
Tumour location
Because focal therapy targets only the cancerous parts of your prostate gland, the location of your tumour is important. Depending on which side it is, how deep into the gland it is and its proximity to nerve bundles will depend on the type of focal therapy we recommend.
Anterior tumours
These tumours are located at the front of the prostate. These means they are far away from important nerve bundles that control potency and continence. However, they can be easily missed by digital rectal examination (DRE) and biopsies that aren’t guided by image scans, like MRIs. This can lead to people with anterior tumours diagnosed later and with more advanced disease.
Suitability: Anterior tumours can be more difficult to treat with HIFU because the energy can’t make its way all the way through. For anterior tumours, we usually recommend NanoKnife.
Posterior tumours
These tumours are located at the back of the prostate. They can be more aggressive than anterior tumours, but not always. Posterior tumours can be felt more easily during DRE.
Suitability: They can respond well to HIFU treatments because the sound waves can more easily reach the tumour within the gland.
Learn more about the different kinds of focal therapy
For HCPs
If you have a patient who you believe may be suitable for focal therapy, find out more about making a referral.
To speak to one of our expert consultant urologists and learn about what treatment might be right for you
contact us today
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.
