NHS Study Backs Focal Therapy for 3,500 Prostate Cancer Patients as Side-Effect Risk More Than Halves
Updated
Updated · bbc.co.uk · Jul 16
NHS Study Backs Focal Therapy for 3,500 Prostate Cancer Patients as Side-Effect Risk More Than Halves
3 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Jul 16
Summary
Nearly 3,500 men in a 10-year NHS study had focal therapy outcomes matching surgery or radiotherapy, with only two prostate-cancer deaths among mostly intermediate- or high-risk patients.
Less than half the usual risk of incontinence or sexual dysfunction could ease the main concern that treating only part of the prostate might raise recurrence, filling the long-term evidence gap regulators had cited.
Only about 1,000 men a year currently receive focal therapy in the UK, though up to 15,000 could benefit; routine NHS access is limited to 10 centres in England and none elsewhere in the UK.
£2.8 million in new government funding will expand provision in England, while charities and clinicians are pressing NICE to review the data and make the treatment a routine option.
More than 64,000 UK men are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year, and researchers say lower-harm treatment could also support future national screening plans, including the £60 million Transform trial.
Why did a less-harmful cancer therapy face a two-decade delay before its breakthrough study in the UK's NHS?
Could this therapy's fewer side effects finally make a national prostate cancer screening program a viable reality?
Does sparing healthy tissue with focal therapy increase the long-term risk of cancer returning in the prostate?
10-Year NHS Data: Salvage Prostatectomy Outperforms Radiotherapy for Recurrent Prostate Cancer—Implications for Focal Therapy and Future NHS Practice
Overview
A major NHS-backed study, published in JAMA Oncology in 2024, has transformed the understanding of how to treat recurrent prostate cancer. Led by researchers from Imperial College London and supported by the NIHR, the study analyzed data from 19 NHS hospitals collected between 2006 and 2024. It is the first large UK study to directly compare salvage radical prostatectomy and salvage radiotherapy for men whose prostate cancer returned after initial treatment, usually signaled by rising PSA levels. The findings offer new hope and clearer guidance for both patients and clinicians facing difficult treatment decisions.