Study to Evaluate a New Method to Detect Residual Tumours During Surgery for Prostate Cancer Using Confocal Microscopy

Brief summary (registry, in English)

Prostate cancer is the most common solid cancer affecting male patients worldwide. When diagnosed early, it can usually be cured with surgery (radical prostatectomy), but this procedure is associated with side effects such as urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction. If the nerves that surround the prostate are left intact (nerve-sparing), the risk of developing these side effects decreases. However, since these nerves are in intimate contact with the prostate there is a chance of leaving cancer cells behind, with the subsequent need for additional treatments. Sadly, the current methods surgeons use to select patients who can safely be offered nerve-sparing are not very accurate in predicting where the tumour is extending outside the prostate. NeuroSAFE is a technique that can inform the surgeon if there are tumour cells on the surface of the prostate and indicate the need for removing more tissue during the same operation. However, it requires a specialised team to process the sample in a reasonable amount of time that does not excessively prolong the surgery. Therefore, many centres are not able to perform it. A new technology called fluorescence confocal microscopy (LaserSAFE) can be used to examine the surface of the prostate and can identify when cancer is present. Critically, it requires minimal training and resources to produce results in a few minutes and the microscope can be placed in the operating room. The investigators aim to recruit a group of 20 patients who will undergo radical prostatectomy as a treatment for prostate cancer. The prostate specimen will be analysed using both techniques, but decisions on how much tissue to resect during surgery will depend on the results of NeuroSAFE. This feasibility study will allow us to understand the challenges associated with performing both techniques. This will allow us to plan a larger study to evaluate the accuracy of LaserSAFE.

What you commit to

• Study type: Interventional · Phase 1/2
• Participants enrolled: 21
• From 15 May 2024 to the primary completion date, 15 Dec 2024
• 1 site in 1 country
• Visits and tests: ask the trial team, the registry does not list them

Built from the registry fields of ClinicalTrials.gov. It describes the study, not your situation.

Who cannot take part

Copied verbatim from ClinicalTrials.gov and grouped by topic. Only the trial team decides who can take part.

Who the study is looking for

Age in the registry: 18 years to - · Sex: Male · Does not accept healthy volunteers

Full criteria on ClinicalTrials.gov

Sites (1)

Sites in registry order. Pick your city on the disease page to sort them by distance.

Related publications

• The LaserSAFE technique for margin assessment during radical prostatectomy: a feasibility study.BJU Int · 2026 · PMID 41309506