HUMC provides groundbreaking focal therapy for prostate cancer

About 1 in every 8 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his lifetime.

“We are proud to be at the forefront of urologic cancer care and research, and offering noninvasive Focal One HIFU treatment represents the next frontier in prostate cancer treatment," said Michael D. Stifelman, MD, Chair of Urology, Hackensack University Medical Center.

This September, Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, Hackensack University Medical Center is sharing the news of a breakthrough noninvasive prostate cancer treatment that uses high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) technology.

Focal One is an advanced robotic high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) system that allows Hackensack University Medical Center urologists to precisely target and destroy diseased prostate tissue using sound waves — minimizing the risk of side effects such as urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction that are associated with surgery to remove the prostate and radiation therapy.

Focal One combines real-time ultrasound image guidance with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and biopsy data to create a 3D image of the targeted treatment area. Using a small probe inserted into the rectum, a urologist navigates to the tumor using 3D image guidance, directs high-speed ultrasound energy at the target area and ablates, or destroys, only the diseased portion of the prostate — without the need for any incisions.

The fusion of these technologies enables urologists to destroy tumors with increased precision and less damage to surrounding healthy tissue, minimizing the risk of side effects associated with radical prostatectomy surgery or radiation therapy.

The addition of Focal One builds on the Department of Urology’s reputation for state-of-the-art, multidisciplinary care for urologic cancers. For the past 15 years, Hackensack University Medical Center urologist Kevin Basralian, M.D. has been traveling worldwide — including the Bahamas, Switzerland, and Canada, where the technology has been approved for years — to perform HIFU procedures for prostate cancer, making him one of the premier physicians in New Jersey at performing HIFU procedures.

Dr. Basralian has also participated in research on HIFU for prostate cancer and has been working to raise awareness about focal therapy as an option for patients.

“I have patients who come to me for second and third opinions who are not aware that focal therapy is an option,” said Dr. Basralian. “The Focal One machine is phenomenal, the treatment is unparalleled, and we want our patients to have access to the therapies that provide them with the best possible outcomes after prostate cancer treatment.”

“Dr. Basralian’s extensive experience with HIFU and our acquisition of the Focal One system means we can now offer our patients access to advanced, incisionless prostate cancer treatment delivered by an expert urologist right here in New Jersey, without the need to travel far from home,” said Michael D. Stifelman, M.D., Chair of Urology, Hackensack University Medical Center, Director of Robotic Surgery at Hackensack Meridian Health, and Professor and Chair of Urology, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine. “We are proud to be at the forefront of urologic cancer care and research, and offering noninvasive Focal One HIFU treatment represents the next frontier in prostate cancer treatment.”