Logansport (Ind.) Memorial Hospital is one of the first to offer high intensity focused ultrasound treatments for prostate cancer in the U.S., the Pharos-Tribune reported Sept. 27.
HIFU offers the same early-detection cure rates as surgery and radiation with fewer side effects and better quality of life, urologist Stephen Beck, MD, told the newspaper, adding that there is less than a 2 percent chance of persistent urinary incontinence or erectile dysfunction, common side effects in surgical treatment.
HIFU takes approximately two hours to complete and uses an ultrasound probe inserted into the rectum while the patient is anesthetized. The probe provides images while also treating the area, according to the report.
The treatment is popular in Europe and was approved by the FDA in 2015 but rarely used in the U.S., the report said.