Focal treatment for unilateral prostate cancer using HIFU: a comprehensive study of pooled data

Background: Focal therapy for prostate cancer (PCa) remains experimental. Aim of the current study is to review available evidence and perform a pooled analysis exploring oncologic and functional results of High Intensity Focal Ultrasound (HIFU) focal therapy for the treatment of unilateral PCa. Methods: The National Library of Medicine Database was searched for relevant articles. A wide search was performed including the combination of following words: “HIFU”, “prostate”, “cancer”, “focal”. Overall, 167 articles were reviewed. Of these, 7 articles were identified and eligible for the pooled analysis. Data on HIFU hemiablation or focal prostate ablation oncologic and functional results were pooled from these 7 studies that included 366 men with unilateral PCa. Results: In the 366 analyzed cases, mean age was 67 years (95%CI 66-69), and mean pre-operative PSA was 6.4ng/ml (5.5 – 7.4). 3 studies included PCa up to Gleason 7 (3+4), 3 studies did include also Gleason 7(4+3), while one study had no limitation ...