Australian first: Qld offers revolutionary prostate treatment free

An expensive, but highly successful treatment for recurrent prostate cancer now available in Australia for the first time at a public hospital in Queensland.

The Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital will offer the revolutionary prostate treatment free.

A highly expensive, revolutionary treatment for recurrent prostate cancer is for the first time in Australia available at a public hospital — The Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital in Brisbane.

The NanoKnife procedure, which can cost more than $35,000 in the private health sector, is a life-changer for men battling the disease as it is an alternative to the removal of the prostate and it can successfully remove cancer in the treatment area in more than 90 per cent of patients.

The procedure involves placing special NanoKnife needles into the prostate around the site of the cancer and delivering electrical pulses between the needles. This punches holes in the cancer cell wall membrane which cannot be repaired, and the cancer cell dies.

RBWH senior visiting urological surgeon A/Professor John Yaxley said the ability to offer this treatment option in the public sector is a game changer in minimising adverse patient outcomes for local control of recurrent prostate cancer after prior prostate radiotherapy.

“After seeing the success of the procedure in the private sector, I wanted this technology to be available to public patients who otherwise may not be able to afford the treatment,” Dr Yaxley said.

“The NanoKnife procedure provides a significantly reduced risk of urine incontinence, impotence, intraoperative and peri-operative complications, with minimal post-procedure pain and a rapid return to daily life compared to the alternative treatment option, salvage radical prostatectomy (prostate removal).

The treatment could save many lives.

“Salvage radical prostatectomy and additional salvage prostate radiotherapy can result in severe negative quality of life outcomes for patients including bowel injury, urethral stricture, a 33-88 per cent risk of severe incontinence of urine and radiation toxicity to bowel and bladder,” he said.

“We know that just 0-15 per cent of men are sexually active after prostate removal following previous prostate radiotherapy and have only a 35 per cent chance of being free of progressive or recurrent cancer at 10 years.”

“In comparison, an Australian trial of salvage NanoKnife treatment conducted by Professor Stricker in Sydney (FIRE Trial) confirmed that salvage NanoKnife treatment has similar results with 60 per cent of men free of further treatment at five years, and the benefit of significantly less risk and side effects,” A/Prof Yaxley said.

Clayfield resident 77-year-old Robert Parkin was one of the first patients to receive the NanoKnife treatment at RBWH.

“I first began to experience health complications in 2012 and was diagnosed with a very minor prostate cancer that didn’t really develop. Last year, we noticed some changes in my cells despite prior prostate radiotherapy and found out I was eligible for the NanoKnife procedure, which I underwent in January this year,” Mr Parkin said.

“The alternative for me would have been to have my prostate removed. I’ve had friends who’ve had this done and it seems like quite a long and brutal recovery. It changes you physically and it’s a shame to do that to a man if it can be avoided,” he said.

Originally published as Australian first: Qld offers revolutionary prostate treatment free