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Focal therapy is a minimally invasive treatment strategy for prostate cancer in which only the cancer (with a margin) is treated; the majority of the prostate and surrounding key structures are left in tact.
In UK, three different modalities have been approved for the delivery of focal therapy; all are done ideally as day-case general anaesthetic procedures.
For tumours towards the back part of the prostate (posterior), we would usually favour high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU), whereas tumours towards the front of the prostate (anterior), we would generally used a needle-based technique, such as cryotherapy or irreversible electroporation (IRE).
Whilst focal therapy is known to have a markedly reduced side-effect profile (up to 5-10x lower) compared to radical / whole gland options, such as radical prostatectomy or radiotherapy, it does still carry some negative effects, although these are usually short lived.
Once the catheter has been removed following focal therapy, it is normal to experience increased urinary frequency, urgency, and discomfort, and it is not uncommon to even get a small amount of urinary leakage with these. These urinary symptoms tend to improve over a period of weeks following the focal therapy procedure, as the swelling and inflammatory changes settle down.