Desai Sethi Urologist Shares Focal Therapy Lessons at AUA 2026, Highlighting Precision Prostate Cancer Care
Dr. Bruno Nahar relied on more than a decade of experience with focal therapy during an AUA 2026 presentation that emphasized patient selection, improved outcomes and the evolution of minimally invasive prostate cancer treatment.
Bruno Nahar, M.D., associate professor of urologic oncology at the Desai Sethi Urology Institute (DSUI), part of UHealth — University of Miami Health System, presented lessons learned on focal therapy for prostate cancer during the Endourology Society day at the American Urological Association’s AUA2026.
Focal therapy targets cancerous lesions while sparing surrounding tissue. The approach minimizes risks of common side effects from radical prostatectomy, including urinary incontinence and sexual dysfunction. The treatment uses a variety of ablative methods, including high-intensity focused ultrasound, to destroy cancerous tissue.
A Milestone in High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound
Dr. Nahar’s talk reflected on DSUI’s extensive experience, offering attendees an in-depth look at how optimizing patient selection can significantly improve outcomes. He focused on the use of high-intensity focused ultrasound, a method with the high reported efficacy and safety data in prostate cancer studies.
DSUI recently completed its 200th robotic, high-intensity focused ultrasound case. The milestone placed DSUI in the top five hospitals in the U.S. to have done as many high-intensity focused ultrasound cases using that platform.
UHealth’s Department of Urology started its focal therapy program in 2015.
“We were among the first academic centers on the East Coast to adopt this approach,” said Dr. Nahar, also the Eric and Elizabeth Feder Family Endowed Chair in Urologic Oncology Research at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. “Early on, much of the field was still evolving and, like many others, we learned through experience. Since then, we’ve published our initial outcomes in the Journal of Urology and, more importantly, have now accumulated long-term follow-up that has helped refine our approach.”
Why Patient Selection Matters
The experience has yielded important best practices. Dr. Nahar said one of the biggest lessons learned is that focal therapy is fundamentally about patient selection.
“With better imaging, improved biopsy techniques and a deeper understanding of tumor biology, we can now more accurately identify which patients are ideal candidates. Our more recent data shows that when patients are properly selected, outcomes are significantly improved,” Dr. Nahar said.
At the same time, DSUI researchers have learned that not all prostate cancer patients are good candidates for focal therapy. Men with higher-risk or more aggressive disease should not undergo focal therapy.
“This talk reflects the maturation of the field and its progression from early adoption toward a more refined, evidence-based approach,” he said. “Sharing these insights helps other urologists better understand when to offer focal therapy, when to refer and how to avoid suboptimal outcomes.”
The work contributes more broadly to a shift in prostate cancer care, towards more personalized, less invasive treatment strategies that preserve quality of life without compromising cancer control, Dr. Nahar added.
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Tags: AUA2026, cancer research, Desai Sethi Urology Institute, Dr. Bruno Nahar, Focal One, high intensity focused ultrasound, prostate cancer