Prostate Cancer Treatment Overview
Our team of specialists offers a full range of diagnostic and treatment services designed to provide patients with the most effective care possible. UMGCCC researchers have determined that radiation and surgery often result in equal cure rates. This has led to exciting new advances in radiation treatment for prostate cancer.
Some of the new treatments we offer include:
- Robot-Assisted Cystectomy for bladder cancer
- Cryosurgery for kidney cancer – we are one of only a few medical centers in the nation to offer this approach for treating small kidney cancers
- 3-D Conformal Radiotherapy – uses a CT scan to view the prostate three dimensionally and targets radiation toward the cancer while sparing nearby healthy tissue
- Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) – modifies and shifts the radiation beam intensity during a procedure
- Intensity Modulated Arc Therapy (IMAT) – a related form of IMRT, it delivers precisely sculpted radiation directly at the tumor site. UMGCCC is the first facility in the United States to use this therapy.
- Prostate Brachytherapy – a form of radiation therapy in which radioactive "seeds" are placed in direct contact with the tumor
- Robot-Assisted Laparoscopic Prostatectomy – a minimally invasive surgical option for prostate cancer with less blood loss, smaller incisions, quicker recovery times and fewer complications
- Radioligand Therapy (RLT) – a radiation therapy used for prostate cancer that delivers radiation directly to cancer cells and limits damage to healthy tissue. RLT is a type of theranostics treatment that combines two radiopharmaceuticals (radioactive drugs): one to find cancer cells in the body and another to deliver the radiation therapy and destroy them.
Other services include:
- Consultations for newly diagnosed and recurrent cancers
- Diagnostic MRI, CT scan and Prostascint testing
- Urologic pathology
- Combination therapies and clinical trials
- Stereotactic or Gamma Knife radiotherapy
- Treatment of metastatic disease (cancer that has spread)
- Second opinions
- New therapies for all stages of cancer
- Individual and family psychological counseling
Patients have complete access to the full range of medical support services at the University of Maryland Medical Center.
