Interstitial microwave thermoablation for localized prostate cancer

The conventional treatment for localized prostate cancer can be associated with significant morbidity and cost. Interstitial microwave thermoablation is a minimally invasive procedure used experimentally to treat selected patients with failed radiation therapy of prostate cancer at our institution. Preliminary results in these patients suggest that this treatment might be a useful alternative in selected patients with previously untreated localized prostate cancer. In this report we describe the first use of percutaneous transperineal interstitial microwave thermoablation to treat a case of primary prostate cancer. There were no treatment complications. At 18 months the patient's serum prostate-specific antigen remains undetectable, and his prostate biopsy shows no evidence of malignancy. These very preliminary but exciting results in this single patient suggest that this experimental technique should be explored further. (C) 1999, Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.