Doctors at Monterey Bay Urology use metal probes filled with icy argon gas to freeze prostate cancer in its tracks.
The procedure, called cryoablation, and the Watsonville medical group is the first on the Central Coast to offer what doctors there say is a relatively cheap, effective and almost painless treatment.
"This is an option that's not very invasive, has a fast recovery, and older men tolerate it well," said physician Mark Rosen of Monterey Bay Urology who, along colleagues Andrew Knorr and David Benjamin, has been performing cryoablation surgery at Watsonville Community Hospital since April.
But there's a catch. In their zeal to kill all the cancer cells, doctors sometimes freeze the sensitive nerves that run along either side of the prostate. These nerves are responsible for causing erections, and freezing them leaves the patient impotent.
Impotence is a common side effect of all prostate cancer treatments, but many patients can regain their potency over time Benjamin said.
"We're trying to kill the cancer, you want to err on the side of freezing the nerves rather than leaving the cancer behind," he said.
The treatment uses six to eight probes, each about twice the diameter of a toothpick, to freeze cancerous prostate tissue.
More than 90 percent of cryoablation patients remain cancer-free for at least three months, and most never have a recurrence of the cancer, doctors said.
| Cryoablation costs about half as much as other prostate treatments, and most patients are back on their feet in week, they said. The procedure is approved by the American Medical Association, and the federal Food and Drug Administration and covered by most insurance companies including Medicare. |
"The prostate's whole purpose is to make semen, so if you're not trying to procreate it's pretty worthless," he said.
One major benefit of cryoablation is that it requires no cutting. Doctors insert the probes directly through the skin, making 10 to 12 pinpricks, and the surgery is over in about an hour. Most patients are out of the hospital within a day.
"They just stick a Band-Aid on you when they're done," said Jim Watson, 68, of Portland, Ore., a cancer survivor who underwent cryoablation surgery four years ago and now works for Cryocare, the company that makes the equipment.
In the fight against prostate cancer, doctors need every tool they can get, and cryoablation provides a option for patients with cancer contained in the prostate or those who have failed radiation therapy. Patients can tolerate only one course of radiation, but cryoablation can safely be performed again and again, the doctors said.
Cryoablation has been available since the 1980s, but early techniques were imprecise and often damaged other tissue near the prostate.
"There was no way to protect areas you didn't want to freeze so you froze everything and there were a lot of complications," Benjamin said.
Now, advanced imaging and temperature-sensitive probes help doctors precisely freeze only the prostate. Doctors are working to reduce the risks even further by freezing only the cancerous part of the prostate, leaving the rest.
"I think soon we'll be able to just treat the area where the cancer is, save the nerves, and cure the patient," Knorr said.
The doctors at Monterey Bay Urology also use a similar technique to freeze tiny kidney tumors, enables many patients to keep their kidneys.
Contact Emily Saarman at esaarman@santacruzsentinel.com.
Need to Know
- Only men can get prostate cancer; the prostate is a male sex organ.
- Prostate cancer rarely occurs in men younger than 40.
- One in six men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime; one in 34 will die of the disease.
- Early prostate cancer usually has no symptoms. The best way to detect the disease is annual screening.
- Difficult or painful urination is a common symptom of prostate cancer.
- The American Cancer Society advises annual prostate screening for men over 50. If you have a brother or father with the disease, you should begin screening at 40.
