Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 6, 2026
A New Technique for Treating Low-risk Prostate Cancer—Super Active Surveillance
Published on: November 7, 2025
[Prostate cryotherapy: General principles.]
Lucía Polanco Pujol1, Enrique Lledó García1, Jorge Caño Velasco1
1Unidad de Andrología y Cirugía Reconstructiva Uretro-Genital. Servicio de Urología. Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón. Madrid. España.
Introduction:
Prostate cryotherapy has been consolidated as an alternative minimally invasive treatment.
Objective:
To exposed its historical development, its action mechanism and the surgical technique. Regarding its indications, we expose the different option of treatment- primary cryotherapy, salvage and focal- emphasizing its oncological results in the absence of randomized studies.
Results:
Cryotherapy is a safe technique with low complication rate, although incidence of erectile dysfunction is 40-90% in case of full-gland cryotherapy. Nowadays, it is recommended as a therapeutic alternative for low and intermediate risk localized prostate cancer, although in clinical trials. Recurrence-free survival is close to 96% in low-risk tumors and 90% in intermediate-risk tumors. On the other hand, it is a salvage treatment option for local recurrence after radiotherapy. Focal therapies including focal cryoablation have an important development, with recurrence-free survival of 75%.
Conclusion:
Waiting for randomized studies that provide more scientific evidence, available retrospective studies show cryotherapy as a safe and effective treatment option in patients with localized prostate cancer.
