by Vikas Reddy

Created on: November 15, 2008   Last Updated: November 21, 2008

The process of ultrasound involves colliding high frequency sound waves to certain parts of the body and using the resulting bouncing back waves to visualize the body's structure, internal organs, and blood vessels which can be used to diagnose a patient.

An ultrasound of the prostate gland is non-invasive and is done by inserting a probe into the patient's rectum. This ultrasound probe receives and emits sound waves, which upon reflection can produce pictures of the prostate gland in great detail.

The main uses for the prostate ultrasound examination are to detect disorders, enlargement, possible bumps, and many more symptoms that can be dangerous to the patient. This is done by a process known as a transrectal ultrasound. In a prostate cancer ultrasound, the primary purpose is to diagnose a potential tumor in the gland.

One of the highest causes of death in men due to cancer is a result of prostate cancer, which is most common in the United States. It usually manifests in men over fifty years of age and is characterized by the uncontrolled multiplication and proliferation of cells in the prostate gland. These cells can metastasize into other parts of the body, commonly the lymph nodes, and seriously jeopardize a patient's health.

Ultrasound of the prostate comes into play to compare the size of the prostate gland to the PSA, or the Prostate Specific Antigen; an enzyme that functions to allow sperm easier passage through a woman's uterine cervix. This is known as the PSA Density test but its results have been non-conclusive and too expensive. The proven relationship, however, is that the higher the PSA levels, the higher the risk of prostate cancer becomes.

A prostate ultrasound would involve the treatment of cancerous tissue in the gland. Such a treatment exists and it is called High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU). HIFU uses sound waves to heat prostate tissue to such a degree that it can kill cancerous cells. The treatment has been proven to be successful in international studies, where 94% of patients with PSA levels less than 10 ng per mL emerged cancer-free after only a few years. However, this treatment has not yet been allowed in the United States.

The Focus Surgery of Indianapolis, Indiana designed the Sonablate 500, the machine used to produce ultrasound images in HIFU treatment around the world. The US participates in prostate cancer research even when it is not domestically approved, but perhaps in the future it will be allowed in the country and many patients with prostate cancer can get the treatment they need.

References:

"IARC Worldwide Cancer Incidence StatisticsProstate. JNCI Cancer Spectrum. Oxford University Press (December 19, 2001). Retrieved on 2007 through the Internet Archive.

Catalona, WJ; Richie JP, deKernion JB, Ahmann FR, Ratliff TL, Dalkin BL, Kavoussi LR, MacFarlane MT, Southwick PC (December 1994). "Comparison of prostate specific antigen concentration versus prostate specific antigen density in the early detection of prostate cancer: receiver operating characteristic curves". J Urol 152 (6 Pt 1): 20316. PMID 7525994.

Toyoaki Uchida, et al. Five years experience of transrectal high-intensity focused ultrasound using the Sonablate device in the treatment of localized prostate cancer. Dept of Urology University of Tokai Hachioji Hospital. International Journal of Urology.

Learn more about this author, Vikas Reddy.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.