New cancer trial with potential for fewer side effects to start in UK

Press Association Health Editor Jane Kirby explores a brand-new treatment for prostrate cancer

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A GROUNDBREAKING trial for a prostate cancer treatment with fewer side effects has launched in the UK.

Backed by the Government-funded National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), the trial will examine whether Aquablation - a therapy using robotics, Al and real-time imaging - works as well or better than traditional surgery, known as radical prostatectomy.

With radical prostatectomy, the prostate gland is removed in a bid to cure men of prostate cancer.

The treatment is suitable for men whose cancer has not spread or has spread to the area just outside the gland, but the operation carries a risk of side-effects, such as infection, erectile dysfunction and urinary problems.

Aquablation is currently used to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).

Aquablation involves a robotic-assisted, high-pressure waterjet. Surgeons can also map the entire prostate with ultrasound, finding cancerous tissue to remove while avoiding surrounding nerves and muscles.

The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust in London is the first hospital in Europe to recruit a patient to the trial, which is being run in seven countries.

Overall, 280 patients will be recruited globally, all with early-stage, localised prostate cancer.