Exceptional Care for Advanced Prostate Cancer

At Michigan Institute of Urology, we recognize that every prostate cancer patient is unique and deserves a treatment plan personalized to their individual diagnosis. Don’t expect a one-size-fits-all treatment approach. Trust us to recommend the option that is right for you.

What is Advanced Prostate Cancer?

Typically, prostate cancer is slow-growing and unlikely to cause any harm during your lifetime. But sometimes the cancer cells are more aggressive and likely to spread to other areas of the body – often the lymph nodes, bones, and liver. This is advanced or late-stage cancer.

To learn more about treatment options for early-stage or localized (non-metastatic) prostate cancer, please visit our Prostate Cancer condition page.

Genetic Testing Can Offer Personalized Results to Help Guide Your Treatment

We recommend that all men with metastatic prostate cancer learn more about Germline and Somatic genetic testing:

• Genetic Testing: This test provides insight into your overall cancer risk and can inform your family members about their own potential risks. Testing examines your DNA from blood or saliva to identify inherited genetic changes present in all cells of the body. It can guide treatment decisions, such as recommending PARP inhibitors or platinum-based chemotherapy if you have certain germline mutations.
• Somatic Testing: This test can guide treatment decisions by identifying specific mutations within your tumor. Results may indicate if a targeted therapy is right for you.

What are My Treatment Options?

If you’ve been diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer, your options are varied at Michigan Institute of Urology. Thanks to our robust research department, you have access to the newest treatment advances, sometimes before they are available to the public.

The current treatments for advanced prostate cancer are listed here. New treatments are always in development. Your MIU physician can explain the most effective treatment options for your individual situation.

• Immunotherapy:These treatments stimulate your body’s immune system to find and destroy cancer cells, with advancements that help the body track down more elusive cancer cells. Ask your doctor if one of the following immunotherapies is right for you:
  • PROVENGE^®
  • KEYTRUDA^®

• Targeted Therapy: These therapies cause a disruption in the cancer growth. They target specific cancer cells and destroy them while minimizing damage to healthy tissue. Ask your doctor if one of these is right for you:
  • PLUVICTO^®
  • PARP Inhibitors

• Hormone Therapy: The hormone testosterone is what most prostate cancer cells need to grow. Hormone therapy (also known as androgen deprivation therapy) stops testosterone from being made or from reaching prostate cancer cells. Without its energy source, the cancer slows and potentially shrinks.It can be the right choice at certain stages of prostate cancer, and for different reasons. Ask your doctor if one of these is right for you:
  • ZYTIGA^®
  • XTANDI^®
  • ERLEADA^®
  • NUBEQUA^®

• Cryotherapy:Also called cryosurgery or cryoablation, this therapy uses very cold temperatures to freeze and kill prostate cancer cells.

• Nanoknife: This minimally invasive therapy precisely targets the prostate tumor with electrical pulses, destroying cells while helping to preserve your quality of life.

• LDR Brachytherapy with Palladium-103: Tiny radioactive seeds containing radioactive isotopes are implanted in your prostate. The seeds emit low dose radiation over several weeks, gradually destroying cancer cells while minimizing damage to nearby tissue.

• Stereotactic body radiation therapy: Delivers high doses of radiation in a small number of treatment sessions – five outpatient sessions on consecutive days or over a two-week period.

• Intensity modulated radiation therapy:Computer-guided radiation is targeted at the cancer cells in daily sessions, over several weeks.

• Surgical removal of the prostate: If you will undergo surgery to remove your prostate, Our Guide to Prostate Surgery will help you understand and prepare for the procedure.