Abstract
Transurethral microwave thermotherapy (TUMT) is a minimally invasive procedure for treating prostate disease. In this study, androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) was started 3 months before TUMT to reduce volume of the early stage prostate cancer to render the thermotherapy effective. Seventy five Japanese male with localized prostate cancer, clinical stage T1c-T2bN0M0, were included for this study. The therapy started with ADT for 3 months to reduce volume of the prostate. High-energy TUMT with UroWave (Dornier MedTech Systems GmbH) was then performed. Transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) in radical fashion was then performed at least 3 months after TUMT to wait for maturation of histopathologic changes. Significant reduction in volume of the prostate (mean 35%) was noted after ADT for 3 months. The mean volume of the prostate at TUMT was 21.6 ml. Pathologic study of all the TURP chips revealed no cancer cell in 59 of 75 patients. Among 16 patients who were found to have remnant cancer cells in TURP chips, 10 were with non-viable cancer cells and 6 were with probably viable cancer cells. No patient showed any sign of local progression or metastatic disease and no patient died of prostate cancer for the past 8 years. These results suggest that combination of high-energy transurethral microwave thermotherapy and androgen deprivation will be a potential alternative to treat localized prostate cancer.
