The following are consensus statements from the American Urological Association's Best Practice Policy Statement* on Cryosurgery for the Treatment of Localized Prostate Cancer
Primary Cryosurgery (Evidence Level II-2/3)
“The consensus opinion of the Panel is that primary cryosurgery is an option, when treatment is appropriate, to men who have clinically organ-confined disease of any grade with a negative metastatic evaluation. High-risk patients may require multi-modal therapy. There are even more limited data regarding the outcomes for clinical T3 disease, and the role of cryosurgery in this setting is currently undetermined.”
Salvage Cryosurgery (Evidence Level II-3)
“It is the opinion of the expert Panel that salvage cryosurgery can be considered as a treatment option for curative intent in men who have failed radiation therapy. The most appropriate candidates have biopsy proven persistent organ-confined prostate cancer, a PSA <10 ng/mL, and a negative metastatic evaluation as determined by standard assessment tools such as imaging modalities.”
*Published in 2008