Water Vapor Ablation Therapy

[PTvsPC]

Hey folks

I was recently made aware of this treatment by Leal Health. It popped up as a clinical trial in Los Angeles at USC.

Here's the short explanation:

Water vapor ablation therapy for localized prostate cancer, also known as Rezūm therapy, utilizes transurethral delivery of controlled doses of sterile water vapor (steam) directly into the prostate tissue. The thermal energy from the water vapor induces cellular apoptosis and tissue necrosis, leading to a reduction in prostate volume and alleviation of obstructive urinary symptoms.

Has anyone here had this treatment or planning to enroll in a clinical trial?

[Tall_Allen]

It is approved for BPH, not prostate cancer.

[PTvsPC in reply to Tall_Allen]

Please re-read my post... it's a clinical trial.

[Tall_Allen in reply to PTvsPC]

Thanks.We do have a number of clinical trials already that used a variety of thermal ablation techniques (HIFU, cryo, FLA, PDT and IRE) and they all perform poorly even when the whole gland is ablated:

prostatecancer.news/2021/03...

prostatecancer.news/2016/12...

Why would REZUM work any better?

[PTvsPC in reply to Tall_Allen]

Both of these articles are quite outdated at this point. There are some thoughtful responses that question some of your assertions. I'd be very interested to know what the results look like at this point.

In other news, it appears I may be excluded from the trial for two reasons:

1. My prostate is too small: min size must be > 20cc. Mine is 14cc on last measurement.

2. Use of alpha 5 reductase medications excluded: I've been on finasteride (1mg) for nearly 30 years, which is why PCa was easily discovered in my case.

[Tall_Allen in reply to PTvsPC]

Outdated? There are studies from this year.

[PTvsPC in reply to Tall_Allen]

The first link date on the actual article is: Wednesday, March 17, 2021

Whole gland TULSA-PRO and HIFU outcomes: Is it time to give up on thermal ablation for prostate cancer?

The second link date is: Friday, December 16, 2016

Focal Ablation: Unresolved Issues

I see a few comments dated later.

[PTvsPC]

It might be worthwhile to read up on it and see. New techniques have been developed. Here's a link:

francismedical.com/clinical...