A Florida doctor is establishing himself in the treatment of prostate cancer by successfully applying the cutting-edge high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) treatment, which has shown promising results to ablate prostate tissue.
Dr. Tracy Gapin is the founder and director of Sarasota Prostate Care of Florida, a center recognized for offering minimally invasive prostate cancer treatment options.
The HIFU method is gaining momentum after being cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in December 2015.
Gapin believes this new procedure, which uses high intensity focused ultrasound, is a game-changer for patients in the early and middle stages of prostate cancer, as it has managed to eradicate cancer tissue in 94 percent of early stage prostate cancer patients, according to a recent study.
“If we are going to continue to lead in this fight against prostate cancer we must utilize every technological advancement along with compassionate care,” Gapin said in a press release.
A former resident at the University of Florida and Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (FACS), Gapin is considered to be one of the top medical professionals in his field. Among other firsts, Gapin is a pioneer in the field of urology to conduct a robot-guided surgery using the Da Vinci prostatectomy. So far he has performed more than 300 successful surgeries using this technology.
The potential of the HIFU method was recognized by Gapin as a key player in the field of prostate cancer even before the well-known study which involved 101 patients, 87 of whom experienced cancer removal in the treated lobes and 68 who became cancer-free throughout the entire prostate, including areas that had not been directly treated.
The results of a two-year follow-up study show 89 percent of patients were living without the need for any radical therapy.
Assessment of functional outcomes at 12 months indicated that only 2.8 percent of the men treated had persistent grade 1 stress incontinence and the remaining 97.2 percent had no need of sanitary pads.
An additional evaluation by the international index of erectile function (IIEF) showed that 78.4 percent of the participants preserved erectile function, and scores of quality of life remained stable or better than at the beginning of the study.
More than 40,000 men worldwide have already received treatment with HIFU and recovered. Reviews by professionals indicate that this could be an option that provides positive results with negligible side effects and with an exceptionally fast recovery time.