Dissolving Prostate Cancer

DURHAM, N.C. (Ivanhoe Broadcast News) -- For decades, ultrasounds have been used to determine the sex, size, and vitality of unborn children. Now, the same technology is being used to stop prostate cancer in its tracks.

You can usually tell whether Blaise Kielar is having a good day by the type of music he plays. The owner of the world’s only electric violin shop used his music as his primary means of escape when he learned he had prostate cancer.

“If you’ve got it in your mind that you’re having a good time, being expressive, I think everything works better,” Kielar says.

Doctors treated his cancer with HIFU, or high intensity sound waves.

“HIFU is new and different, and it’s very focused,” says Cary Robertson, M.D., a urologist at the Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C.

According to Dr. Robertson, HIFU is like an ultrasound machine used on pregnant women except it creates sound waves that are much more powerful and focused. A probe sends ultrasound waves through a patient’s rectal wall. The waves are so hot and intense, they actually kill cancer cells.

“It is possible to exactly target where one wants to give heat,” says Dr. Robertson.

Kielar says he could relate to the sound waves used by HIFU. “I took the ultra sound wave from the company and basically kept dividing by two,” says Kielar. “I brought it down to the audible frequency range, and I determined it was an F sharp.”

Although HIFU is a non-invasive treatment for prostate cancer, it can cause sexual dysfunction, and some men may experience incontinence. It is widely used in Europe but is still in clinical trials in the U.S. The latest studies show that 80 percent of men remained cancer-free seven years after treatment. For Kielar, HIFU proved to be a painless success.

This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, which offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, click on: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.

If you would like more information, please contact:

Lauren Shaftel
Duke University Medical Center News
Lauren.Shaftel@Duke.edu