Boost for cryotherapy

The NICE Guideline recommended that newer treatments such as cryotherapy and high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) should only be used in the context of clinical trials. Given the ethical difficulty of establishing such trials, clinicians and patients feared that PCTs would withdraw funding. In contrast, last year, the European Association of Urology (EAU) recognised the important role of cryotherapy in treating prostate cancer by including it in its prostate cancer guidelines. More recently, the American Urological Association (AUA) announced best practice statements citing cryotherapy as a treatment option for both primary and recurrent localised prostate cancer.

Since publication of the guideline, NICE has been in discussion with industry, BAUS and the Health Technology Assessment programme of the National Institute for Health Research to identify a way forward. Discussions are progressing with BAUS to establish national data collection. In the meantime, NICE has clarified that surgeons collecting local data available for national analysis will satisfy the recommendation on use of cryotherapy, enabling PCTs to continue funding.