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Advanced treatment for prostate cancer was now available in the country and at a lower cost than getting it done abroad.

The HCM City University Medical Centre had introduced a new treatment called High Intensity Focused Ultrasound, or HIFU, for the first time in Viet Nam, Dr Nguyen Hoang Duc of the centre's Urology Department said.

HIFU procedure involves focusing high-frequency sound waves on a specific part of a cancer, killing malignant cells.

With assistance and training from US specialists, the centre had carried out the procedure on three patients since March using the Sonablate 500 HIFU system, he said. One of its advantages was that the treatment did not have many side-effects and complications involved in other types of cancer treatments like surgery, he explained.

It takes only two to three hours for the procedure and patients can leave the hospital the same day while surgery patients are required to be hospitalised for five to seven days. The treatment costs VND35 million (US$1,850) at the centre compared to $10,000 in the Philippines and $25,000 in Canada.

The centre dignosed at least 50 cases of prostate cancer every year, with half of them in an advanced stage and too late to be cured, he added. Some 10,000 patients have reportedly undergone HIFU treatment in 33 countries since 2002. — VNS

Source: Viet Nam News