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DR. ROBERT DOEBLER: NEW INSIGHTS INTO FOCAL THERAPY FOR PROSTATE CANCER, AND ACTIVE SURVEILLANCE
Dr. Robert Doebler traveled to Montreal and Washington, D.C., recently to attend two conferences on prostate cancer-related topics.
At the First Montreal Conference on Focal Therapy for Prostate Cancer, Dr. Doebler participated in presentations by leading experts on prostate imaging and other diagnostic tools, current and future therapies and ongoing research in the field of Focal Therapy for prostate cancer. Dr. Doebler also participated in a National Institutes of Health conference in Washington, D.C. titled: State-of-the-Science Conference: Role of Active Surveillance in the Management of Men with Localized Prostate Cancer.
“Focal therapy is emerging as a new paradigm in treating prostate cancer,” said Dr. Doebler. “As has been the case with breast cancer, new technologies and treatment options are revealing that we can take a similar approach in treating prostate cancer—focal therapy represents an approach that targets only the tumors, sparing the surrounding tissue and minimizing often significant side effects of more radical treatment options,” he added.
“Our practice is committed to offering patients a wide-range of approaches and treatment options for prostate cancer,” said Dr. Doebler. “Each patient’s circumstances are different and they want and deserve to be treated uniquely. Our goal is to partner with patients in determining the range of diagnostic and treatment options that are most appropriate for them, and the optimum point in delivering that care.
“You could think of it as a toolbox filled with tools—cancer-fighting tools,” added Dr. Doebler. “Our goal is to make the broadest range of tools and approaches available for our patients without over-treating patients. The concept of Active Surveillance, is one such approach, and fits very neatly with our overall philosophy of taking a conservative tack in treating prostate cancer, consistent with each patient’s unique situation and personal preferences.”
Dr. Doebler continued, “The conference in Washington brought together the nations experts to discuss and share the newest developments in Active Surveillance. It gave us new insights into the differences between Active Surveillance and what has been commonly known as ‘Watchful Waiting.’ Both approaches continue to have merit, and we may employ one or both at various points during the process of managing the disease for particular patients,” he added. We are constantly learning more about how to manage low-risk disease, and what indicators to monitor to ensure that we are providing ‘best practices’ for managing prostate cancer, and I believe that we are doing more in this area than any other Urology practice in southwestern Pennsylvania.
Again, our goal is to bring a complete armamentarium of diagnostic and disease-management techniques to bear on prostate cancer, which is the second-leading cause of cancer deaths among males after skin cancer,” he concluded.
