Prostate Cancer Treatment Goes Nanogold

One in nine men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime, making it the most common nonskin cancer in the United States. Traditionally, therapies to treat prostate cancer have not been as specific as they could be, often leading to unwanted side effects and damage to the sensitive surrounding tissue. Now, a new study from investigators at Mt. Sinai’s Icahn School of Medicine provides new data that biocompatible gold nanoparticles, designed to convert near-infrared light to heat have been shown to safely and effectively ablate low- to intermediate-grade tumors within the prostate. Findings from the new study were published recently in PNAS through an article titled “Gold nanoshell-localized photothermal ablation of prostate tumors in a clinical pilot device study.” This treatment could offer patients a targeted therapy option that would preserve critical structures within the prostate, thus avoiding side effects associated with whole-gland treatment such as prostatectomies. Removal or other whole-gland treatment of the prostate carries risks of urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction. However, technological advances have provided clinicians with options for focal therapies with fewer complications.