UChicago Medicine emerges as a global leader in focal therapy treatments for prostate cancer

The University of Chicago Medicine’s focal therapy program for prostate cancer has completed more than 300 procedures – a volume that ranks among the highest in the U.S. since the program’s January 2024 inception.

Focal therapies are new, minimally invasive procedures that target tumors in the prostate. They mark a significant advancement from just a few years ago, when most prostate cancer cases were treated by removing or radiating the entire prostate gland.

The past approaches were “overtreatment” in some cases, said UChicago Medicine urologic oncologist Abhinav Sidana, MBBS, MPH, and often came with unwanted side effects such as urinary incontinence or erectile dysfunction.

With focal therapies, the prostate remains intact, minimizing or eliminating side effects and allowing for faster recovery times.

UChicago Medicine is the only hospital in Chicago – and one of just a handful nationwide – to offer the full spectrum of focal therapies for prostate cancer. They’re available at UChicago Medicine’s Hyde Park and Tinley Park locations.

“We have a comprehensive focal therapy program,” said Sidana, director of the focal therapy program. “These treatments help a patient’s quality of life.”

The focal therapies are:

HIFU (high-intensity focused ultrasound)

• A non-invasive treatment that uses focused sound waves to heat and destroy cancer cells in the prostate without harming surrounding healthy tissue.

IRE (irreversible electroporation)

• A precise, non-thermal treatment using electrical pulses to kill cancer cells while preserving nearby nerves and blood vessels – ideal for hard-to-reach areas.

Cryoblation

• This method freezes cancer cells using tiny needles and cold temperatures.

TULSA Pro (transurethral ultrasound ablation of the prostate)

• A MRI-guided treatment done through the urethra that destroys cancer cells using heat from sound waves.

These treatments are provided through UChicago Medicine’s unique, multidisciplinary focal therapy program that offers each patient a nurse navigator who educates them on the therapy and the process, plus a collaborative team of radiologists, radiation oncologists and urologic oncologists.

Who can have focal therapy for prostate cancer?

Focal therapy isn’t for everyone and it is optional – some patients might opt to remove the prostate altogether and be done with their treatment.

To be eligible for focal therapy, a patient must have an intermediate-risk cancer localized to one side of their prostate.

The team recommends a therapy based on a detailed review of the patient’s imaging, pathology and health history. They also take into account the cancer’s size, location and the patient’s personal preferences.

Since the prostate is not removed with focal therapy, patients will be required to do more follow-up care, and return for regular scans or biopsies to check for cancer recurrences, Sidana said.

Leaders in focal therapy discovery, practice

UChicago Medicine oncologist Scott Eggener, MD, and abdominal radiologist and researcher Aytekin Oto, MD, MBA, pioneered the country’s earliest focal laser ablation trials more than a decade ago. In 2017, Greg Zagaja, MD, now Director of UChicago Medicine’s Prostate Cancer Program, launched one of the initial sites for TULSA-Pro as part of a national clinical trial, leading to its FDA approval.

Building on that research, UChicago Medicine became one of the first hospitals in the country to establish a HIFU program in 2019, led by urologic surgeon Arieh L. Shalhav, MD.

In 2023, Sidana designed the comprehensive focal therapy program, which launched the following year. In the program’s first 18 months, more than 120 focal therapy procedures have been performed, a milestone that reflects both the technological and innovation in organ-preserving prostate cancer care at UChicago Medicine.

Sidana has performed more than 350 procedures in the past six years and also trains other doctors from around the world on focal therapies.

Additionally, UChicago Medicine researchers are currently running three clinical trials on focal therapies, one of which involves a new treatment that could soon be available to patients if it receives FDA approval.