Dr. Eric Walser will debut a new treatment for prostate cancer that uses focused ultrasound beams rather than needles or incisions.
“This is a radical new therapy which also shows promise and is approved for the treatment of essential tremors and Parkinson’s disease,” said Walser, chair of Radiology and director of the Interventional Radiology Department at the University of Texas Medical Branch. “We see future applications for brain cancer and cancer in other parts of the body.
The TULSA-PRO procedure is an MRI-guided minimally invasive technology used to treat prostate disease without making a single incision. Patients will not require a hospital stay, surgery, or repeated visits for treatment through this groundbreaking procedure.
The MR images also enable doctors to draw out boundary lines while avoiding important nerve bundles and critical structures around the prostate to effectively reduce the risk of side effects and preserve the patient’s natural functions. This treatment is also available for elderly men and individuals previously treated with radiation, but where cancer reoccurred.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in American men, except for skin cancers, according to the American Cancer Society. The chance of getting prostate cancer increases as a man gets older. Up until now, men diagnosed with prostate cancer had two basic options: surgery or radiation. The new TULSA-PRO treatment will offer UTMB patients a more innovative and effective option.