Cancer breakthrough by freezing tumours

SURGEONS in Scotland are defeating cancer by freezing malignant tumours in a pioneering technique that has achieved remarkable results in patients who have failed to respond to radiotherapy. New hope has been offered to prostate cancer sufferers by the procedure, which involves inserting "ice probes" into the body, which then shatter cancerous cells.

Although the treatment, known as "cryotherapy", is still in its infancy, it is causing great excitement among cancer specialists, who claim it could offer a potential cure for many common cancers.

The technique has been used on 13 men in Scotland. They were all patients who were at risk of their cancer spreading from the prostate within five years – a development that would inevitably have led to premature death.

Follow-up tests suggest that the treatment has yielded excellent results.

All the patients treated have achieved an "undetectable" level of PSA (prostate specific antigen) – a substance that is produced by the prostate and is used by doctors as a marker for the presence of cancer.

The results are so encouraging that the service run by Gartnavel General Hospital and the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre is now ready to treat patients from across Scotland.

The newly formed Scottish Prostate Cryotherapy Service is also liaising with other cryotherapy centres in Europe and the US to take part in a large-scale trial.

(c) Tom Peterkin, "Scotland on Sunday" 11 October 2009