Prostate Cancer Research

Research of prostate cancer in the Indiana University School of Medicine Department of Urology has led to new and innovative treatments.

HIFU

Department of Urology researchers developed a treatment for prostate cancer called high intensity focused ultrasound, or HIFU, with technology pioneered at IU School of Medicine in the 1970s. The first HIFU research protocol was developed at IU School of Medicine with current department of urology chair Michael Koch, MD, and professor of urology Thomas Gardner, MD, contributing. It has been used worldwide for more than a decade with over 50,000 men treated with this method. It is approved for sale and use in more than 65 countries. The method was approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in the United States in 2015.

Imaging Researchers at IU School of Medicine have developed a new way to find prostate cancer by using prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA), leading to better diagnosis and treatment. Urologists and radiologists use a tracer that causes the tumor to “glow” during positron-emission tomography (PET)-imaging. The tracer shows a prostate cancer lesion that may not be seen on an MRI alone, giving researchers a better view of the tumor. A clinical trial is currently underway to further investigate PSMA-PET Imaging.