Objective:

To evaluate the role of contrast-enhanced transrectal ultrasound (CETRUS) during follow-up after targeted cryoablation for treating localized prostate cancer.

Methods:

From Jun. 2014 to Mar. 2015

15 patients with pathologically confirmed localized prostate cancer underwent targeted cryoablation. The

y were subjected to prostate-specific antigen (PSA) analysis after therapy. All patients underwent CETRUS scanning before cryoablation and 1 d

6 months

1 year after cryoablation or biochemical recurrence (Phoenix definition). The preoperative and postoperative PSA and CETRUS results were compared

and the ablation effect was assessed.

Results:

The median follow-up period was 31.0 months

and all patients survived without local progression or metastasis. The biochemical disease-free survival was 73.3% (11/15). One day after cryoablation

CETRUS demonstrated no enhancement or only little contrast agent in ablation areas with unclear boundary; Six months after cryoablation

CETRUS demonstrated no enhancement in ablation areas with clear boundary; One year after cryoablation

CETRUS demonstrated satisfactoryablation extent in all patients. Four patients developed a biochemical recurrence

of which 2 patients revealed abnormal enhancement on CETRUS and received intermittent endocrine therapy and PSA levels decreased. Another two patients showed no enhancement on CETRUS

whose PSA levels were stable without any therapy.

Conclusion:

CETRUS is an effective imaging technology during follow-up after targeted cryoablation for treating localized prostate cancer.