Pilot Study to Investigate Magnetic Resonance (MR) Image Guided Focal Therapy in Prostate Cancer

Magnetic Resonance Image (MRI) Guided High Energy Ultrasound for Focal Prostate Cancer Ablation

Background:

The ability to treat early prostate cancer is still limited. Thermal ablation methods are being tested for focal prostate cancer therapy. Researchers want to improve on these methods.

Objective:

To understand if Transurethral UltraSound Ablation (TULSA) in combination with MRI guidance is useful to treat localized prostate cancer.

Eligibility:

English-speaking adults ages 18 and older with localized prostate cancer that can be seen on MRI and can be treated by thermal ablation.

Design:

Participants will be screened with the following:

• Medical history
• Physical exam
• Digital rectal exam
• Blood and urine tests
• Electrocardiogram
• Tumor biopsy
• Questionnaire to assess urinary tract symptoms
• MRI of the pelvis. The MRI scanner is a long, narrow tube. Participants will lie on a bed that moves in and out of the scanner.

Participants may also be screened with the following:

• Echocardiogram
• Chest x-ray
• Bone scan
• Urodynamic studies to see how well the bladder, sphincters, and urethra hold and release urine
• MRI of the brain
• Transrectal ultrasound
• Computer tomography (CT) scan of the chest, abdomen, and pelvis. A CT scan is a series of x-ray images taken of parts of the body.

Some screening tests will be repeated during the study.

Participants will have the TULSA procedure. They will have an MRI for guidance. A small ultrasound applicator will be placed into their urethra. It uses heat to destroy the cancer areas in the prostate. It is controlled by a robotic arm. A cooling catheter will be placed into their rectum.

Participants will use a urethral catheter for 1-7 days.

Participants will have follow-up visits at 3, 6, 12, 18, 24, and 36 months.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Prostate Cancer
• Intervention / Treatment: Device: TULSA-PRO

Detailed Description

Background:

Prostate cancer is relatively slow growing, with doubling times for local tumors estimated at 2 to 4 years.

Some prostate cancers prove to be small, low grade, and noninvasive and they appear to pose little risk to the life or health of the host. Recent patient series suggest that 20% to 30% of men undergoing radical prostatectomy have pathologic features in the radical prostatectomy specimen consistent with an insignificant or "indolent" cancer which poses little threat to life or health.

We propose that participants with low volume and low grade disease can be best served with focal ablation of the visible prostate cancer without the side effects of urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction associated with radiation therapy or radical surgery.

Focal Therapy for prostate cancer has gained popularity however prior studies demonstrate a failure rate as high as 50% with a laser.

Objective:

To determine the feasibility of magnetic resonance image (MRI)-guided ultrasound-induced thermal therapy of biopsy-confirmed and MRI visible, prostate tumor(s) using the TULSA Thermal Therapy System (Profound Medical)

Eligibility:

Subjects with prostate cancer, amenable for ultrasound ablation

Organ confined clinical T1c or clinical T2a prostate cancer, visible on MRI, and confirmed by prostate biopsy

Adequate organ and marrow function

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) < 20 ng/ml

Age >=18 years

Design:

Study testing feasibility and tolerability of ultrasound ablation of focal prostate cancer.

It is anticipated that 15 participants will be evaluated for this study.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 21
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Peter A Pinto, M.D.; Phone Number: (240) 858-3700; Email: pp173u@nih.gov
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Karen K Holcomb; Phone Number: (240) 974-9026; Email: karen.holcomb@nih.gov

Study Locations

• United States
  • Maryland
    • Bethesda, Maryland, United States, 20892
      • Recruiting
      • National Institutes of Health Clinical Center
      • Contact: For more information at the NIH Clinical Center contact National Cancer Institute Referral Office; Phone Number: 888-624-1937

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

• INCLUSION CRITERIA:

Subjects must have prostate cancer amenable for ultrasound ablation defined as:

• diagnosed by transrectal ultrasound-guided prostate biopsy via standard 12 core biopsy and targeted biopsy of any MRI-visible or tracked lesions; pathological diagnosis must be confirmed by Laboratory of Pathology, NCI;
• Gleason Score <= 7;
• MRI-visible or MRI-tracked prostate cancer. This includes prostate cancer found on targeted biopsy of MRI-visible or MRI-tracked lesion. Histologically positive standard biopsy cores of Grade Group >= 2 prostate cancer must be from an area overlying or within 1cm of an MRI-visible or tracked lesion(s) and reviewed by NCI urologic pathologist. (Left / Right, Base, Mid-Gland, Apex). Systematic and targeted cores of Grade Group 1 prostate cancer outside of proposed ablation zone do not affect inclusion status, as these can be observed by conventional guideline management.
• organ confined clinical T1c or clinical T2a prostate cancer that is visualized on MRI. Note: Participants after prostate cancer treatment with local recurrence or residual tumor which is visible on MRI are eligible.
• PSA < 20 ng/ml or PSA >20 with a PSA density <0.15.
• Adults (>= 18 years of age)
• Participants must have adequate organ and marrow function as defined below:

Platelets >= 50,000/mcL

Hemoglobin >= 8 g/dL

Measured or calculated creatinine clearance (CrCl) (eGFR may also be used in place of CrCl)* >= 30 mL/min/1.73 m^2

GFR=glomerular filtration rate; ULN=upper limit of normal.

*Creatinine clearance (CrCl) or eGFR should be calculated per institutional standard.

• Subjects must be able to understand and willing to sign a written informed consent document.
• Subjects must be co-enrolled to NCI protocol 16-C-0010 "Care of the Prostate Cancer Patient and Prospective Procurement of Prostate Cancer Tissue."

EXCLUSION CRITERIA:

• Targeted lesion ablation length from apex to base of >5 cm or lesion extending >3 cm from the urethra.
• Target ablation volume greater than 100 ml.
• Presence of calcifications that would impede ultrasound transmission between the urethra and ablative target.
• Participants are unable to tolerate MRI (foreign body, i.e., pacemaker or other implanted device; claustrophobia; inability to tolerate rectal coil; etc.)
• Acute urinary tract infection
• Lower urinary tract symptoms defined by an IPSS > 20
• Participants with uncontrolled coagulopathies (including liver dysfunction, or untreated hereditary coagulopathies which have a standard of care treatment) per surgeon discretion based on bleeding risk.
• Uncontrolled intercurrent illness including, but not limited to, ongoing or active infection, symptomatic congestive heart failure, unstable angina pectoris, cardiac arrhythmia, or psychiatric illness/social situation (within time frame) that would limit compliance with study requirements.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: 1/Arm 1; Ultrasound ablation of focal prostate cancer	Device: TULSA-PRO; Transurethral MR-Thermometry Guided Ultrasound Ablation of the Prostate

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
feasibility and tolerability	To determine the feasibility of magnetic resonance image (MRI)-guided ultrasound-induced thermal therapy of biopsy-confirmed and MRI visible, prostate tumor(s) using the TULSA Thermal Therapy System (Profound Medical)	3, 6, 12, 18, 24, and 36 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
safety and tolerability	Address short- and long-term complication rates of study treatment by tabulating adverse events by grade according to CTCAE, and analyzing and reporting descriptively	3, 6, 12, 18, 24, and 36 months
changes in imaging and biopsy characteristics	Determine if focal ablation of MRI visible, biopsy-confirmed prostate cancer using the TULSA Thermal Therapy System (Profound Medical) platform can successfully ablate targeted prostate cancer lesions in >50% of participants	3, 6, 12, 18, 24, and 36 months
effect of thermal ablation on short- and long-term complication rates	Observe thermal damage on post-contrast MRI which extends into areas of the Rectum or Urethra; assess frequency of not completing the procedure	3, 6, 12, 18, 24, and 36 months
thermal damage	Observe thermal damage on post-contrast MRI which extends into areas of the Rectum or Urethra; assess frequency of not completing the procedure	3, 6, 12, 18, 24, and 36 months
outcome of TULSA ablation	Use descriptive statistical analysis to examine serial PSA, PSA density, changes in imaging and biopsy, International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), and Sexual Health Inventory for Men (SHIM)	3, 6, 12, 18, 24, and 36 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: National Cancer Institute (NCI)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Peter A Pinto, M.D., National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Publications and helpful links

Helpful Links

• NIH Clinical Center Detailed Web Page

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): November 20, 2023
• Primary Completion (Estimated): May 1, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): September 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 19, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 19, 2021
• First Posted (Actual): March 22, 2021

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): November 26, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 25, 2025
• Last Verified: November 24, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: PSA; TULSA; Thermal Therapy System; Gleason Score
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Urogenital Diseases; Genital Diseases; Genital Neoplasms, Male; Urogenital Neoplasms; Neoplasms by Site; Neoplasms; Genital Diseases, Male; Prostatic Diseases; Male Urogenital Diseases; Prostatic Neoplasms
• Other Study ID Numbers: 210017; 21-C-0017

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: All IPD recorded in the medical record will be shared with intramural investigators upon request
• IPD Sharing Time Frame: Clinical data available during the study and indefinitely.
• IPD Sharing Access Criteria: Clinical data will be made available via subscription to BTRIS and with the permission of the study PI.
• IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type: STUDY_PROTOCOL; SAP; ICF

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: Yes
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No