Status of cryotherapy in the treatment of organ-confined prostate cancer

Prostate cancer represents the second most frequent malignant male disease in Germany. In the United States, approximately 35,000 men die from prostat e cancer annually. The treatment of this disease is of particular interest to both clinical and investigative urologists. Radical prostatectomy and ra diotherapy are established standard modalities in the treatment of organ-co nfined prostate cancer. As in other fields of urology, minimally invasive p rocedures have gained increased interest in urologic oncology. With cryoablation of the prostate, a minimally invasive therapy for prostat e cancer has been available since 1989 and has been used and under investig ation since then. Improvements in cryotechnique and progress in transrectal high-resolution ultrasonography enable the surgeon to achieve the curative target of thermoinduced destruction of the whole prostate gland. Control w ith thermocouples, ultrasound, and double-freeze techniques makes it possib le to destroy the whole organ or the region of interest in high-risk patien ts or in patients who refuse to undergo open surgical procedures.