Variations in Urethral Warming Temperatures During Cryosurgery: The Impact On Post‐Treatment PSA Levels

Abstract

A comparison of prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels at 1 year after cryosurgery is made for three groups of patients: those who underwent standard cryosurgery with the use of a 37°C urethral warmer, those who underwent cryosurgery with the use of a 22°C warmer, and those who underwent cryosurgery with no warmer used. Those patients who underwent standard cryosurgery were further divided into those who had less aggressive disease (by determination of pretreatment PSA level and tumor grade) and those with more aggressive disease. No significant difference was found in the results of treatment by varying the urethral warming temperature. Aggressive tumors did not respond well to standard cryosurgery. Complete ablation of the prostate by freezing without the use of a warming catheter, however, dramatically improved treatment results. Further studies are thereby felt to be warranted.