NanoKnife
A revolution in the treatment of prostate cancer
Once prostate cancer has been diagnosed, patients are often faced with a choice: Either the prostate is surgically removed or treated with radiation therapy. At the same time, those affected often do not know all the facts about possible side effects and the actual risks associated with the treatment or its benefits.
Our most important message is this: Don’t be rushed or pressured. Prostate cancer often progresses slowly. In any case, you will have enough time to inform yourself about all treatment methods. In addition, classic “radical” therapy (surgery and/or radiation treatment) for low-grade cancer extends life expectancy only slightly – it is probably the same for high-grade cancer. In addition, the classic treatment can lead to serious side effects: Impotence in up to 70 percent of cases, incontinence in 20 to 50 percent of patients.
With Vitus, you now receive a precisely targeted NanoKnife therapy that also significantly reduces unwanted side effects.
Get Informed
It could change your life
We recommend that you gather as much information as possible before deciding on a treatment option. Because once you have chosen one treatment path, it may be difficult to choose another path later.
However, after NanoKnife treatment, surgery or radiation therapy is still possible. Get in touch with us. It could change your life.
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The Irreversible Electroporation
Tissue ablation procedure
NanoKnife (IRE) tissue ablation procedure is a new therapy that uses IRE (Irreversible Electroporation) to selectively destroy affected cells. The surrounding tissue is not injured in the process. Prostate cancer can thus be treated for the first time in such a way that continence is preserved and there is only a low risk of impotence. In addition, the NanoKnife procedure causes neither pain nor scars.
Here at Vitus, we are proud of the pioneering work we have done with NanoKnife. We are among the world’s leading experts in the use of NanoKnife in the treatment of prostate cancer.
Advantages of NanoKnife treatment
A short and gentle treatment.
- One time treatment in only one day
- No pain
- Highest potency retention rate achieved to date*.
- Statistical 0% Incontinence**, ***
- No surgical incisions
- No aftercare necessary
- No higher recurrence rate than radical procedures**.
- Treatment even after ectomy or radiotherapy
- Secondary immunological benefits
- Most men (90-95 percent) treated with the NanoKnife procedure retain potency.
- ** Statistics obtained and published to date are based on 600 patients treated over 6 years. The Vitus Prostate Center is part of the multi-center registry study NCT02255890, but the results of this are still unpublished.
- * Urinary incontinence, as it is called, is the lack or inability of the body to safely store and self-directly empty the contents of the bladder. This leads to involuntary loss of urine. While there are several possible definitions of incontinence, a long-term study of incontinence after prostatectomy** concludes that a reasonable definition of incontinence is when a patient requires 2 or more pads per day 12 months after prostate surgery.
- **** Sacco E, Prayer-Galetti T, Pinto F, et al. Urinary incontinence after radical prostatectomy: incidence by definition, risk factors, and temporal trend in a large series with a long-term follow-up. BJU Int. 2006;97:1234-41.
- Syan, Raveen, and Victor W. Nitti. “Post-prostatectomy Incontinence Initial Evaluation.” Urinary Dysfunction in Prostate Cancer. Springer, Cham, 2016. 15-30.
Videos about NanoKnife for prostate cancer
Find out more about modern therapies for prostate cancer here.
Further treatment options
Combinations of different, coordinated therapies are also possible.
IRE treatment for recurrence after prostatectomy, radiotherapy, or HIFU. NanoKnife technology opens up completely new possibilities in the treatment of recurrences in prostate cancer.
Even in difficult cases, NanoKnife preserves both erectile function and bladder function in most cases, provided the organs have not been damaged by previous treatment.
Immunotherapy and IRE treatment in prostate cancer. New hope for patients with metastatic prostate cancer.
A combination of NanoKnife treatment and immunotherapy, in the form of immunostimulatory drugs, has been shown to be effective in metastatic prostate cancer.
The improvement of the body’s immune system through IRE.
Destroying cancer cells during NanoKnife treatment triggers an enhanced immune response to the remaining cancer cells – it works almost like a vaccination against prostate cancer.
Tumor particles released by the NanoKnife treatment reach the lymph nodes, where they trigger an increased immune response.