Cryoablation of Prostate Cancer

The word cryoablation literally means “destruction by freezing”

The idea of cryoablation of the prostate gland has been around since the mid-twentieth century. Most people today refer to cryoablation as cryotherapy or cryosurgery now that the imaging and equipment technology has developed to the point where cryoablation is becoming a mainstream prostate cancer treatment.

Cryoablation is a minimally invasive surgery which uses ultrathin cryoneedles inserted percutaneously through the perineum. Cryoablation is often used when radiation therapy, both external and interstitial, has failed to destroy the prostate cancer. This type of prostate cancer is called radioresistant because the malignant cells have withstood extremely high levels of radiation. Freezing temperatures provide another weapon with which doctors can attack the disease.