Water Vapor Therapy Offers Alterative to Surgery or Radiation for Treating Prostate Cancer

Intermediate-risk prostate cancer, in which the tumor remains confined to the prostate gland and does not spread to other organs, makes up about one-third of all localized prostate cancers. Some individuals with prostate cancer may not require treatment if the tumor is small and slow-growing. However, when treatment is necessary, the standard approach has been surgery or radiation. While these methods are generally effective in treating the cancer, they can also lead to side effects. The prostate is located between the bladder, the urethra (a duct that carries urine from the bladder), and the rectum. It is surrounded by nerves responsible for penile erections and the muscle that controls urine flow, the urinary sphincter. During surgery or radiation, there is a risk of damaging healthy tissue along with the cancer and affecting the delicate structures adjacent to the prostate. The most common side effects of these treatments include impotence, urinary incontinence, and bowel dysfunction. Increasing research suggests that some patients may benefit from a procedure with fewer risks that enables them to maintain a higher quality of life post-treatment.

Steam offers a precise way to deliver heat into the body. Keck Medicine of USC (Los Angeles, CA, USA) is now involved in a U.S.-based, multisite clinical trial to determine whether a water vapor system, which uses small, targeted amounts of steam to destroy cancer cells, is a safe and effective treatment for prostate cancer. Researchers believe that steam may provide a less invasive option for managing or curing cancer compared to current methods. The study is sponsored by Francis Medical (Maple Grove, MN, USA), which developed the Vanquish Water Vapor Ablation System used in the trial. This water vapor ablation system is one of several minimally invasive treatments for prostate cancer that are either currently in use or under development in the field of urology.

Before the procedure, physicians use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to locate the tumor cells within the patient's prostate. During the procedure, doctors use ultrasound and prostate mapping to guide a thin catheter through the patient’s urethra into the prostate area containing the tumor. Once the catheter is properly positioned, a fine needle is deployed into the tumor. Doctors then release a brief, targeted 10-second burst of steam from the needle, with additional bursts as needed, to destroy the tumor. This method is believed to be gentler on the body than traditional therapies and is designed to focus on the cancerous tissue within the prostate. Researchers are investigating whether steam can effectively destroy cancer cells without damaging surrounding organs. Another potential benefit of this investigational therapy is that, unlike surgery, which requires an overnight hospital stay, the water vapor therapy is an outpatient procedure. Furthermore, unlike radiation, which typically requires multiple sessions, this water vapor therapy is designed to be effective with just one application.

“The most common therapies for prostate cancer often cause life-altering side effects, and we are investigating if this new treatment may not only treat the cancer, but offer our patients overall better quality-of-life outcomes,” said Andre Abreu, MD, a Keck Medicine urologist and lead investigator of the Keck Medicine clinical trial site. “Over the next decade or so, we hope to see innovative therapies revolutionize how we help patients become cancer-free while maintaining their quality of life.”

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