VITUS Privatklinik Highlights 15 Years of Experience with Electroporation in Prostate Cancer Treatment

VITUS Privatklinik has reported15 years of clinical experience using electroporation-based therapies in the treatment of prostate cancer. Since establishing its program in 2011, the clinic has performed more than 2,000 electroporation-based procedures. During that time, outcome data from patient cohorts have been published in peer-reviewed journals, including PLOS ONE (2019) and Radiology and Oncology (2025).

Electroporation-based focal therapies have been used internationally for over a decade, but long-term, single-center data remain limited. The VITUS program represents one of Europe’s longest-running clinical applications of non-thermal prostate cancer treatment. This extended clinical experience provides context for the program’s published analyses and continued clinical evaluation.

A Non-Thermal Approach to Prostate Cancer Treatment

Electroporation is a technique that uses short electrical pulses to affect the cell membrane. At higher intensities, this process can disrupt cell membranes and lead to targeted cell death without relying on heat or freezing.

As a non-thermal approach, it is being explored in the context of focal prostate cancer therapies designed to target specific areas of disease while minimizing impact on surrounding structures.

This differs from conventional treatments such as surgery or radiation, which may affect a broader area of tissue. Interest in non-thermal approaches has grown alongside the development of more targeted treatment strategies.

Clinical Experience and Published Findings

Clinical experience from the VITUS program includes both irreversible electroporation (IRE) and electrochemotherapy (ECT). Published analyses have evaluated patients treated over multiple years, including individuals with localized, recurrent, and selected advanced prostate cancer.

Reported findings include tumour response and preservation of key functional outcomes, such as urinary continence in evaluated patients. Analyses of electrochemotherapy cohorts have also indicated feasibility in patients who were not candidates for or declined standard treatment options.

The clinic’s published overview provides further details on these outcomes, along with links to peer-reviewed studies.

Expanding Treatment Approaches

Over time, the VITUS program has expanded beyond single-modality treatment to include combination approaches such as IRE–ECT protocols, developed for specific tumour presentations.

These therapies have been applied in carefully selected cases, including recurrent and locally advanced disease. Treatment planning is individualized based on imaging, tumour characteristics, and prior therapies.

Electroporation-based treatments are considered within a broader framework of prostate cancer care that continues to evolve alongside advances in focal therapy.

Treatment Approach and Clinical Focus

A central focus of the program is balancing tumour control with preservation of quality of life, where medically appropriate.

Treatment decisions are guided by patient-specific factors, with attention to both oncologic outcomes and functional considerations. Through structured follow-up and ongoing evaluation, the clinic has developed longitudinal data reflecting real-world clinical use of non-thermal prostate cancer therapies.

Looking Ahead

As interest in targeted and organ-preserving treatment strategies continues to grow, electroporation-based therapies remain an area of ongoing clinical evaluation.

Long-term institutional experience, combined with published outcome data, provides additional context for how these approaches may be evaluated in prostate cancer treatment planning.

More information about electroporation treatment for prostate cancer and related approaches is available from VITUS Privatklinik.