Focal therapy for prostate cancer, in which only the tumor tissue is treated with cryoablation (freezing), can prolong life, result in less complications such as incontinence, and improve post-treatment quality of life. But the long-term effectiveness of focal treatments has not been well-studied.

A new analysis that followed patients treated with optimized cryoablation of prostate cancer for an average of 10 years post-treatment is published in Journal of Men's Health, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Journal of Men's Health website. In the article "Long-Term Results Of Optimized Focal Therapy Of Prostate Cancer: Average 10-Year Follow-Up in 70 Patients," Gary Onik, MD, Carnegie Mellon University (Fort Lauderdale, FL), and coauthors found that long-term cancer control with focal cryoablation therapy was superior to radical whole gland treatments in patients at medium or high risk for disease-free survival.