HIFU: new treatment option for men with recurrent prostate cancer

For patients whose cancer returned after radiation treatment a new technique may be able to remove prostate cancer in patients without any incisions.
The treatment is called High Intensity Focused Ultrasound, or HIFU, and uses ultrasound energy, sound waves, to quickly heat tissue to destroy cancer cells. The energy for this is directed by an ultrasound probe through the rectal wall, with no incisions made to the body. Ultrasound energy focuses on a specific location in which the temperature rises to nearly 194 degrees Fahrenheit in seconds. Tissue at this focal point is destroyed while the outside tissue remains unharmed.