High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is a relatively new treatment for localized prostate cancer that uses high-frequency ultrasound energy to heat and kill cancer cells. But it’s not for most prostate cancer patients, says Dr. James Brooks, Chief of Urologic Oncology at Stanford Medicine. That’s because prostate cancer is a diffuse disease that tends to show up in many parts of the prostate and does not lend itself to the highly focused nature of HIFU.
“It’s an unusual patient that just has one area of cancer. Those patients are considered for focal therapy with HIFU,” says Dr. Brooks. HIFU is mostly offered as part of a clinical trial.
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