Study Supports Prostate Artery Embolization to Treat BPH

January 22, 2014—Research on more than 100 patients suggests that men with benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) can achieve relief of symptoms with prostate artery embolization (PAE), a nonsurgical treatment that shrinks the gland by temporarily blocking blood flow to the arteries that feed it. The research was presented at ISET 2014: the 26th annual International Symposium on Endovascular Therapy in Miami Beach, Florida.

Investigators at the University of Sao Paolo in Sao Paolo, Brazil, have treated 120 patients, of whom 97% reported improvement in symptoms and quality of life. Follow-up with patients ranges from 3 months to more than 5 years (average, 15 months). Symptoms recurred in 14% of patients, leading to re-embolization, surgery, or medication therapy. 

In the ISET press release, Francisco C. Carnevale, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Sao Paulo, commented, “We have treated more than 100 patients with PAE and are encouraged by the excellent reduction in symptoms and improvement in quality of life for men who have had the procedure, including some with very large prostates, who normally would require open surgery. None of our patients have experienced adverse side effects, and we have followed a number of them for several years longer than other studies.” 

Using catheter-based delivery under local anesthesia, interventionists occlude blood flow to the prostate arteries by injecting fluid filled with microscopic beads. In the United States, PAE is still an experimental treatment. However, a study is underway to compare results of PAE to the standard surgical treatment called transurethral resection of the prostate, or TURP, which requires general or spinal anesthesia.

According to the ISET announcement, BPH affects most men as they age, including more than half by age 60 and 90% by age 85. BPH can cause a variety of problems, including frequent urination, weak urine stream, and a constant feeling of having to urinate. BPH is typically treated with surgery or thermal ablation, which can cause side effects such as retrograde ejaculation or urinary incontinence.