Available evidence on HIFU for focal treatment of prostate cancer: a systematic review.

"CONFLICT OF INTEREST: None declared."

"Dr. Giancarlo Marra's work at Institut Mutualiste Montsouris has been supported by a scholarship grant from the EUSP - European Urological Scholarship Programme."

"This systematic review was based on recommendations by Cochrane () and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocols (). The review protocol was registered in the PROSPERO database (CRD42021235581). Web search was performed on the MEDLINE database (through PubMed) using the key words <prostate cancer> AND <HIFU focal therapy> OR <HIFU partial gland ablation> OR <HIFU focal therapy outcomes> OR <HIFU focal therapy complications> OR <retreatment after HIFU focal therapy>. The search was limited to articles published in the English language and reporting focal HIFU outcomes between 2010 and 2020, including meta-analyses, randomised controlled trials, prospective development studies, prospective and retrospective case series with more than 50 patients. Two authors performed abstract screening independently. In case of discrepancies, uncertainty was solved by a third author. Web search was implemented by manual search including senior authors consultation and search of included articles reference lists. Review articles, case reports, and congress abstracts as well as studies reporting whole-gland ablation or procedures performed in a salvage setting were excluded. The following data were extracted from each study: study design, study population, technical aspects of the procedure, type of anaesthesia, urinary catheter management, length of follow-up, oncologic and functional outcomes, and complications and recurrence management. Material and methods:: We conducted a comprehensive literature review of focal HIFU therapy in the MEDLINE database (PROSPERO: CRD42021235581). Articles published in the English language between 2010 and 2020 with more than 50 patients were included."