Samir S. Taneja, MD, presented “Rationale for Focal Therapy” during the 2022 Frontiers in Oncologic Prostate Care and Ablative Local Therapy symposium on September 23, 2022, in Los Angeles, California.
How to cite: Taneja, Samir S. “Rationale for Focal Therapy.” September 23, 2022. Accessed Oct 2026. https://grandroundsinurology.com/rationale-for-focal-therapy/
Rationale for Focal Therapy – Summary
Samir S. Taneja, MD, James M. Neissa and Janet Riha Neissa Professor of Urologic Oncology in the Department of Urology at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and Vice Chair of Urology and Director of Urologic Oncology at NYU Langone Health, describes the basis for focal therapy, including how to successfully implement patient selection. He begins by outlining critical concepts physicians must accept when using focal therapy: It is a disease management strategy; the goal is prevention of metastasis and mortality; and there is a high likelihood of residual cancer. Dr. Taneja then breaks down the role of focal therapy in conventional treatment paradigms, underscoring that it is beneficial in favorable, unfavorable, and high-risk disease presentations. For example, in low-risk patients, focal therapy can slow clinical progression and delay active treatment. It can also be employed in multimodal interventions for high-risk cancer. He reviews the benefits and risks of using focal therapy in varying disease states and notes that follow-up after focal therapy can be difficult. Dr. Taneja then defines the necessary components of successful focal therapy, including attention to the margins, selecting the correct ablative energy source, and rigorous monitoring for recurrence. He concludes that the rationale for focal therapy is strong, as it is a lower-risk treatment with regard to quality of life, there is potential for durable local control, and re-treatment with limited toxicity is possible.
The annual symposium on Frontiers in Oncologic Prostate Care and Ablative Local Therapy (FOCAL) is an outstanding program on prostate imaging, transperineal interventions, and ablative treatments for prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia. Bringing together community-based, academic, and industry partners, FOCAL offers lectures by world-renowned faculty and hands-on training workshops on in-office transperineal interventions, fusion-guided prostate ablation and state-of-the-art BPH management with novel technologies. For more educational activities from the symposium that took place from September 23-24, 2022 in Los Angeles, California, visit our collection page.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Samir S. Taneja, MD, is the leader of Northwell Health’s urology service line in Manhattan, New York, the Senior Vice President and System Chair of Urology at Northwell Health in the New York metropolitan area, and Chair of the Smith Institute for Urology in New Hyde Park, Long Island, New York. Previous to his position at Northwell Health, Dr. Taneja spent 29 years at NYU Langone Health in Manhattan, New York, most recently serving as vice chair of the Department of Urology, director of the Division of Urologic Oncology, and a professor of urology and radiology at the medical school, as well as professor of bioengineering at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering in Brooklyn, New York.
