MICROWAVE TREATMENT OF LOCALIZED PROSTATE CANCER

前列腺癌是美国男性癌症死亡的第二大原因。拟议的计划旨在开发新的器械和程序，将安全地在前列腺体内产生统一的治疗性热疗温度，以提高局限性前列腺癌患者的存活率。该仪器将从两个独立的微波球囊导管向前列腺发射微波能量--一个在尿道，另一个在直肠。前列腺是少数几个可以从多个方向进行微波热疗的器官之一。建议的方法将做到这一点，以提供比单独使用任何一个喷头所能提供的更均匀的加热。一种新型的尿路微波球囊导管将被开发出来，其中微波辐射器和扩张导管是一个单一的整体组件，提高了天线效率，减小了导管直径，以满足患者的舒适性。加热下的尿道扩张也将同时为BPH提供治疗--创造一种生物支架。直肠微波球囊导管将是一种全新的设计，其中膨胀球囊将迫使天线元件靠在前列腺附近的直肠壁上，从而压缩它，提高治疗效果。拟议的商业应用：前列腺癌影响许多男性，总体治疗成本极高。建议的方法有可能提供一种可以在“门诊”基础上进行的辅助治疗，以提高正在接受外照射或植入治疗放射治疗的患者的存活率。在拟议计划期间开发的新型导管和相关的热疗设备将是重要的商业产品。

Prostatic cancer is the second leading cause of cancer mortality in U.S. men. The proposed program is directed at developing novel instrumentation and procedures that will safely produce uniform therapeutic hyperthermic temperatures in prostate glands to improve the survival rates in patients with localized prostate cancer. The instrumentation will broadcast microwave power into the prostate gland from two separate microwave balloon catheters -- one in the urethra and one in the rectum. The prostate gland is one of the few organs treatable with microwave hyperthermia from more than one direction. The proposed approach will do this to provide more uniform heating than possible from either applicator alone. A new type of urethral microwave balloon catheter will be developed in which the microwave applicator and the expansion catheter are a single integrated assembly improving antenna efficiency and reducing catheter diameter for patient comfort. The urethral dilation under heating will also provide treatment for BPH at the same time -- creating a biological stent. The rectal microwave balloon catheter will be of a completely new design in which the expansion balloon will force the antenna element against the rectal wall proximate the prostate thereby compressing it and improving treatment efficacy. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS: Prostatic cancer affects many men and the overall treatment costs are extremely high. The proposed approach has the potential for providing an adjuvant treatment that may be performed on an "out-patient" basis to improve the survival rates in patients being treated with external beam or implant therapy radiation. The new type of catheters developed during the proposed program and the associated hyperthermia equipment will be important commercial products.