1. Prostate Cancer Slideshow Pictures
2. Medical Illustrations of the Prostate Image Collection
3. Essential Screening Tests Every Man Needs Slideshow

Medical Author:

Kevin C. Zorn, MD, FRCSC, FACS

Medical Author:

Gagan Gautam, MD, MCh

Medical Editor:

William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR

William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR

Dr. Shiel received a Bachelor of Science degree with honors from the University of Notre Dame. There he was involved in research in radiation biology and received the Huisking Scholarship. After graduating from St. Louis University School of Medicine, he completed his Internal Medicine residency and Rheumatology fellowship at the University of California, Irvine. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology.

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Medical Editor:

Dennis Lee, MD

Dennis Lee, MD

Dr. Lee was born in Shanghai, China, and received his college and medical training in the United States. He is fluent in English and three Chinese dialects. He graduated with chemistry departmental honors from Harvey Mudd College. He was appointed president of AOA society at UCLA School of Medicine. He underwent internal medicine residency and gastroenterology fellowship training at Cedars Sinai Medical Center.

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In this Article

• What is the prostate gland?
• What is prostate cancer?
• Why is prostate cancer important?
• What are prostate cancer causes?
• What are prostate cancer symptoms and signs?
• What are the screening tests for prostate cancer?
• What are false-positive elevations in the PSA test?
• What refinements have been made in the PSA test?
• How is prostate cancer diagnosed?
• How is the staging of prostate cancer done?
• What are the treatment options for prostate cancer?
• What about prostate cancer surgery?
• What about radiation therapy for prostate cancer?
• What about hormonal treatment for prostate cancer?
• What is cryotherapy for prostate cancer?
• What is HIFU for prostate cancer?
• What is chemotherapy for prostate cancer?
• What are the differences between hormonal treatment and chemotherapy?
• What about herbal or other alternative medicine treatments for prostate cancer?
• What is active surveillance for prostate cancer?
• Can prostate cancer be prevented?
• What will be the future treatments for prostate cancer?
• Prostate Cancer At A Glance
• Patient Comments: Prostate Cancer - Symptoms
• Find a local Oncologist in your town
• Prostate Cancer Index

Cryotherapy is one of the newer treatments that is being evaluated for use in the early stage of prostate cancer. This treatment kills the cancer cells by freezing them. The freezing is accomplished by inserting a freezing liquid (for example, liquid nitrogen or argon) through needles directly into the prostate gland. The procedure is accomplished under the guidance of ultrasound images. Actually, cryotherapy is not a new technique. Rather, it is a modification of a procedure that was tried previously but had an unacceptably high rate of complications. Thus, cryotherapy was used in the 1960s to freeze the lining of the stomach to treat ulcers but was discontinued because it also severely damaged the lining of the stomach.

At present, cryotherapy is recommended for patients with locally advanced prostate cancer who, for whatever reason, are not candidates for the more established treatments. Cryotherapy is further being studied to determine which other patients might benefit from this treatment. For example, studies are under way to establish whether cryotherapy is beneficial as an initial treatment for organ-confined (localized) prostate cancer. The effectiveness of cryotherapy in eliminating prostate cancer, however, has not yet been proven. We do know that sometimes the freezing liquid fails to kill all of the cancer cells. Moreover, the potential side effects of this treatment include damage to the urethra and bladder. This damage can cause obstruction (blockage) of the urethra, fistulas (abnormal tunnels) that leak urine, or serious infections.

HIFU, which stands for high intensity focused ultrasound, was first developed as a treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and now is also being used as a procedure for the killing of prostate cancer cells. This procedure utilizes transrectal (across the rectum) ultrasound that is highly focused into a small area, creating intense heat of 80-100 C, which is lethal to prostate cancer tissue. However, the published clinical experience with HIFU for this application is limited and the procedure is not yet approved by the FDA for use in the United States.