Geoffrey Sonn, MD, presented “Patient Selection for Prostate Cancer Focal Therapy: Urologic Perspective” during the 7th Global Summit on Precision Diagnosis and Treatment of Prostate Cancer on September 23, 2023.
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How to cite: Sonn, Geoffrey “Patient Selection for Prostate Cancer Focal Therapy: Urologic Perspective.” September 23, 2023. Accessed Jan 2026. https://grandroundsinurology.com/patient-selection-for-prostate-cancer-focal-therapy-urologic-perspective/
Patient Selection for Prostate Cancer Focal Therapy: Urologic Perspective – Summary
Geoffrey Sonn, MD, discusses patient selection criteria for prostate cancer focal therapy from a urologic perspective.
Focal therapy aims to treat only the cancerous lesion while preserving surrounding healthy tissue. Candidates for focal therapy typically have localized prostate cancer confined to a specific area of the gland. Imaging techniques such as multiparametric MRI (mpMRI) play a pivotal role in accurately identifying and characterizing these lesions, guiding treatment planning, and ensuring precise targeting during therapy.
Patient selection also hinges on tumor biology and clinical factors. Dr. Sonn explains that biomarkers and genomic testing help assess the aggressiveness and molecular characteristics of the cancer, aiding in risk stratification and predicting the likelihood of disease progression.
Dr. Sonn underscores the importance of patient-centered care in the era of precision medicine. When considering focal therapy as an option, each patient’s preferences, overall health status, and potential impact of treatment on quality of life must be carefully weighed.
The Global Summit on Precision Diagnosis and Treatment of Prostate Cancer is a unique multi-disciplinary forum organized to inform the key health care stakeholders about the emerging advances in clinical case and research and create a consensus-based vision for the future of precision care and educational and research strategy for its realization. The mission of the Summit is to fill the currently existing gap between the key experts of in vivo imaging, the world authorities in the in vitro fluid- and tissue-based molecular diagnostics, including genomics, and thought leaders in the development of novel observation strategies (e.g., active surveillance, or AS) and therapeutic interventions.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Geoffrey Sonn, MD, is an Associate Professor of Urology at Stanford University in California. Dr. Sonn’s research interests include cancer imaging, MRI-Ultrasound fusion targeted prostate biopsy, prostate cancer focal therapy, robotic surgery for prostate and kidney cancer, and developing artificial intelligence methods to improve prostate cancer detection on MRI and ultrasound. He was the Stanford principal investigator of a major clinical trial using MRI-guided focused ultrasound to treat prostate cancer.
