"An experimental treatment for prostate cancer tumors using highintensity focused ultrasound HIFU shows promise as an effective treatment with fewer side effects than existing therapies. The idea behind the new procedure is similar to lumpectomy in breast cancer patients in which doctors remove only the tumors instead of the entire breast. Using HIFU doctors can focus on treating only the cancer cells on the prostate while causing minimal damage to the surrounding tissue. Unlike more common and invasive treatments such as radiotherapy and surgical removal of the prostate gland HIFU may be able to avoid side effects like urine leakage and impotence. MORE Circumcision The Surgery that May Lower ProstateCancer Risk httphealthland.time.comcircumcisionthesurgerythatcanlowerprostatecancerrisk The new study designed as a proofofconcept study involved just  men. Doctors used MRI and mapping biopsies to locate the cancerous tissues. They then focused highenergy sound waves on the affected area causing the cancer cells to heat up to around C which kills the cells. None of the patients reported urinary incontinence a year after treatment and only  in  suffered from poor erections. Overall about  of the men were cancerfree after a full year following the trial. The signal from this study is quite strong study author Hashim Ahmed a urologist at the University College London told Bloomberg http When you look at the current standard of care theres a in or in chance of having the perfect outcome. In this study after  months its a in chance. The men in the study were aged  to  with medium to highrisk cancer and would likely have undergone surgery or radiotherapy down the line. Men who had already received chemotherapy hormone treatment or radiation therapy were excluded from the study. The procedure was carried out under general anesthesia and most of the patients had hospital stays of less than  hours after the treatment. MORE Cancer Rates Decline Overall but Obesity and Tanning Lead to Upticks httphealthland.time.comcancerratesdeclineoverallbutobesityandtanningleadtoupticks Focal therapy of individual prostatecancer lesions regardless of whether they are multifocal or unifocal leads to a low rate of genitourinary sideeffects and an encouraging rate of early freedom from clinically significant prostate cancer the authors concluded in the study. Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men. The National Cancer Institute estimates http  new cases of prostate cancer this year in the U.S. and  deaths. Ahmed told http Bloomberg that HIFU may also be cheaper than other standard treatments noting that the cost of the MRI and mapping was an estimated  plus about  for HIFU in comparison removing the prostate costs about . Fewer side effects would also lower other health care costs he said. MORE The Screening Dilemma http__.html The researchers are now recruiting more patients and seeking funding for larger studies. While the initial results were promising they need to be replicated HIFU also needs to be studied longterm and compared with other therapies. If the technology holds up it could also work for other cellbased cancers like breast thyroid pancreas and liver Ahmed said. The study was published http Tuesday in the journal The Lancet Oncology."