New laser therapy is ‘four times more effective at treating prostate cancer – and doesn’t leave men impotent’

A NEW treatment for prostate cancer has been developed that is four times more effective and does not leave men impotent.

The non-surgical procedure kills tumour cells in men found with the disease in its early stages.

It involves light-sensitive drugs injected into the blood being “switched on” by laser beams fired through fibres inserted into the prostate.

The treatment leaves healthy tissue unharmed.

Experts hailed the procedure a “huge leap forward” and “excellent news” for men in the early stages of the disease.

Trials saw 49 per cent of patients go into full remission. This compared with 13.5 per cent in a group on current methods — where those at low risk are monitored and treated only when the cancer becomes more severe.

In high-risk cases, the whole prostate is removed or zapped with radiation.

Side-effects can include life-long erectile problems, but the new treatment — vascular-targeted photo­dynamic therapy — saw urinary and erectile problems go within three months. No significant side-effects remained after two years.

The chances of cancer progressing to a more dangerous stage were three times lower for patients on VTP — and when it did, it took twice as long at 28 months.

The trial led by University College London involved 413 patients across Europe.

Study leader Prof Mark Emberton said: “This is truly a huge leap forward for prostate cancer treatment. The lack of complications in the trial suggests it is safe, efficient and relatively easy to scale up.”

“With such an approach we should be able to achieve a significantly higher remission rate than in the trial and send nearly all low-risk localised prostate cancers into remission.

“We also hope that VTP will be effective against other types of cancer – the treatment was developed for prostate cancer because of the urgent need for new therapies, but it should be translatable to other solid cancers including breast and liver cancer.”

The drug used in the procedure, WST11, is derived from bacteria at the bottom of the ocean.

To survive with very little sunlight, they have evolved to convert light into energy with incredible efficiency.

This property has been exploited to develop WST11, a compound that releases destructive atoms to kill surrounding cells when activated by laser light.

“Gerald”, a man in his sixties who has received the treatment, said: “The treatment I received on the trial changed my life.

“I’m now cancer-free with no side-effects and don’t have to worry about needing surgery in future. I feel so lucky to be in this position.”

The European Medicines Agency is currently reviewing VTP and it is likely to be a number of years before it can be offered to patients more widely.