Cryosurgical ablation of the prostate: two-year prostate-specific antigen and biopsy results

Percutaneous cryosurgical ablation of the prostate (CSAP) was performed on patients with localized or locally advanced adenocarcinoma of the prostate. To assess local disease control, post-treatment biopsy and serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels were obtained at 3 and 24 months post-treatment.

From June 1990 through May 1994, CSAP was performed 448 times on 383 patients under Institutional Review Board protocols. A urethral warming catheter was used for all procedures. A total of 239 patients were followed for a minimum of 21 months after treatment. None of this group had received prior local treatment. The group consisted of patients who were newly diagnosed and treated solely with cryotherapy (virgin); the remainder had been on androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) prior to CSAP.

Biopsies were obtained from 114 patients at 21 months or more after treatment. In the virgin group, 79% had a negative biopsy after one or more treatments, and 88% of the ADT group are negative after one or more treatments. Overall, 69% had a negative biopsy after one treatment and 82% had a negative biopsy following one or more CSAP treatments. Of a group of 163 patients, PSA data were evaluable at 21 months or more after treatment. In the virgin group, 60% had a PSA 0.4 ng/mL or less, and 77% had a PSA 1.0 ng/mL or less. In the ADT group, 40% had a PSA 0.4 ng/mL or less, and 69% had a PSA value of 1.0 ng/m Lor less. Complications were minimal, the most common one being urethral tissue sloughing, which occurred in 10% of patients.

CSAP appears to be effective in obtaining local control as measured by biopsy and PSA 21 months or more post-treatment. When retrospectively comparing our results with recently published radiotherapy series, CSAP was more effective in obtaining nadir PSA values 1.0 ng/mL or less and negative biopsies at 21 months or more after treatment.