SOUTHAMPTON doctors have come up with a revolutionary new technique to give cancer the chills.

Clinicians at Southampton General Hospital are tackling prostate cancer by freezing cells with an ‘ice ball’ on the end of a needle.

The procedure works by placing hollow needles into the prostate and passing through compressed gasses which cool rapidly to around -40C, freezing and destroying cancer cells in the affected part of the gland.

Most patients who undergo the treatment, which takes around two hours under general anaesthetic, return home the same day.

Tim Dudderidge, consultant urological surgeon at the General, joins a small group of specialists across the UK performing the technique, known as focal cryotherapy.

He said: “It is really exciting for us to be able to offer this cancer treatment and give men the chance of a cure when their first treatment hasn’t worked.

“While we have also launched a high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) service, a new technique that tackles cancer with sound waves, and have successfully treated more than 30 men in the past year, it is unfortunately not suitable for every patient, which makes the introduction of cryotherapy so important.

“This technique, which uses ice balls to freeze cancer cells, has been used by experts in Southampton for a number of years to treat patients with kidney cancer and we hope to build on that internationally-leading reputation for prostate patients.”

Prostate cancer affects the gland of the same name in men. Most cases occur in men over 50. Globally it is the second most common type of cancer and the fifth leading cause of cancer-related death in men.

The treatment offers an alternative for men who have had unsuccessful radiotherapy and are not suitable for HIFU.

HIFU is not effective if the prostate is too large as it is blocked by the large build-up of calcium.

The first two cases of focal cryotherapy have been performed at the general by Mr Dudderidge, with support from Manit Arya, a consultant urological surgeon at University College Hospital, London.