Jul. 1 at 6:09 PM
$FOCL Per Mayo Clinic, there are a few limitations for HIFU regarding prostate cancer....The first is prostate volume or size. HIFU is delivered through a probe in the rectum, and the treatment can only reach so far. If patients have large prostates and anterior tumors(~20% of all prostate tumors), the energy may not reach anterior enough to provide effective treatment. Sometimes tumors in larger prostates can still be treated if the target tumor is in the posterior part of the prostate.
The next limitation is calcifications in the prostate. Ultrasound energy cannot travel through dense material such as calcifications, so any areas of the prostate behind these may be under treated. Next, these calcifications can reflect the energy, which could potentially lead to unwanted heat being transferred back to the rectum.
Other contraindications include inflammatory bowel disease of the rectum, prior significant rectal surgery....
