HIFU for Prostate Cancer

HIFU is an incisionless treatment used in some prostate cancers. We’re among the first centers in Virginia to offer this treatment.

Our prostate cancer specialists can help you understand whether HIFU is right for you. If another treatment is a better fit, we can help you understand those options, too.

What Is HIFU?

HIFU stands for high-intensity focused ultrasound. It uses sound waves to heat and destroy cancer cells in your prostate.

HIFU is a type of focal therapy. Focal therapy targets and destroys cancer without harming nearby healthy tissue. Because it treats a targeted area instead of the whole prostate, focal therapy lowers your risk of problems with peeing or erections.

UVA Health uses the Focal One system to deliver HIFU. This technology helps doctors plan treatment using imaging and precisely target the cancer in your prostate.

Is HIFU Right for Me?

It’s typically used as a first treatment for some intermediate risk prostate cancers, including Grade Group 2 and 3 cancers.

When prostate cancer comes back after treatment, the next treatment may be called salvage treatment. For some people whose cancer comes back after radiation, HIFU can be considered as a salvage treatment.

In both cases, the cancer must be localized and targetable for HIFU to work.

Localized means the cancer is still inside the prostate and hasn’t spread to lymph nodes or other parts of your body.

HIFU can be used as a salvage treatment when your recurrence is local. That means the cancer that came back after radiation is only in the prostate and hasn’t spread.

Targetable means we can clearly see and focus treatment on your cancer. We use MRI, biopsy results, PSA level, Gleason score, and grade group to understand where your cancer is and how aggressive it looks.

We’ll review your test results and talk with you about whether HIFU makes sense for your cancer.

Benefits of HIFU

Possible benefits include:

• No surgical incision
• No radiation
• No hospital stay
• Shorter recovery
• Lower risk of urinary and sexual side effects compared with traditional treatments that involve the whole prostate

Risks & Side Effects

HIFU has risks and side effects can happen.

Possible side effects include:

• Pain or discomfort after treatment
• Blood in your urine
• Trouble urinating
• Needing to urinate often
• Urinary tract infection
• Need for a temporary catheter
• Urinary leakage
• Erectile dysfunction
• Need for more treatment later

Your risk of side effects depends on your prostate anatomy, where the cancer is, how much tissue needs treatment, and whether you’ve had prostate cancer treatment before.

What to Expect Before, During, & After HIFU

You won’t have to figure this out on your own. Our team will walk you through each step, answer your questions, and make sure you know what to expect before, during, and after HIFU.

Before HIFU

You’ll meet with our prostate cancer treatment team. They’ll review your diagnosis and test results, including your:

• PSA levels
• Biopsy results
• Gleason score
• Grade Group
• Prostate MRI
• Results from any other scans
• Records from any past prostate cancer treatment

You may need more imaging or testing before we recommend a treatment plan.

During HIFU

HIFU is done as an outpatient procedure, which means you can go home the same day.

During treatment, your doctor uses imaging to target your cancer. Focused ultrasound energy heats and destroys the targeted cancer cells.

The procedure usually takes about 1.5 hours.

After HIFU

You may need a temporary catheter while your prostate heals. A catheter is a thin tube that drains urine from your bladder into a bag. It helps you pee while swelling in the prostate goes down after treatment.

We’ll show you how to empty the bag, keep the catheter clean, shower safely, and know when to call. You can usually walk around and do light daily activities with a catheter, but you’ll need to avoid pulling on the tube and follow your care team’s instructions about driving, exercise, lifting, and sex.

When Will I Know Whether HIFU Worked?

We’ll let you know right after the procedure whether the treatment went as planned. After that, you’ll need regular follow-up so we can monitor how well HIFU treated the cancer.

It’s common for PSA to rise for a short time after HIFU because of inflammation. Then it should fall as your prostate heals. Because HIFU treats part of the prostate instead of removing the whole prostate, your PSA may not drop to zero.

It may take several months — and sometimes an MRI or biopsy — to understand how well HIFU worked.

If cancer remains or comes back, we may recommend another treatment. This could include repeat HIFU, surgery, radiation, or another approach. Read more about prostate cancer treatments.

Why UVA Health for HIFU?

UVA Health is among the first centers in Virginia to offer HIFU for prostate cancer.

At UVA Health, our care team looks at your specific concerns and full diagnosis — not just one test result — before recommending treatment. That includes your biopsy, MRI, PSA, Gleason score, Grade Group, prior treatments, overall health, and what matters most to you.

Talk With a Prostate Cancer Specialist

If you’ve been diagnosed with prostate cancer and want to know whether HIFU could be right for you, our team can review your records and talk with you about your options.