Prostatic Artery Embolization in Advanced Prostate Cancer

This is a pilot study assessing efficacy and safety in patients with advanced prostate cancer.

PAE has been shown to be safe and effective in the treatment of prostatic bleeding and lower urinary tract symptoms arising from bladder outlet obstruction. Advanced (defined as locally advanced, metastatic or both in this study) PCA is frequently associated with both of these conditions. The currently most frequently performed palliative surgical treatment is TURP. Though performed endoscopically, TURP is associated with significant side effects in this setting. PAE has been shown to have a superior side-effect profile in the treatment of bladder outlet obstruction compared to TURP. In addition, there is growing evidence that patients with advanced PCA might benefit from cytoreductive therapy (e.g. radical prostatectomy or external beam radiation therapy). However, recent methods of cytoreductive treatment of PCA hold the risk of being highly invasive and are associated with severe side effects. PAE might represent a minimally invasive alternative in this setting. Therefore, efficacy and safety of PAE in patients with advanced prostate cancer is assessed in this pilot-study.