Other than skin cancer, prostate cancer is the most common cancer in American
men, with more than 190,000 new cases diagnosed each year, according to
the American Cancer Society. And each year, more than 60,000 American
men opt to have their localized prostate cancer treated with high-dose
radiation therapy.
But, as
Marcio Fagundes, M.D., medical director of radiation oncology at
Miami Cancer Institute, explains, some prostate cancer patients treated with high-dose radiotherapy
experience side effects such as proctitis, or transient inflammation of
the rectal wall. “Because the prostate and the rectum are in close
proximity, there is a five to ten percent risk that radiation could result
in rectal discomfort or even bleeding with bowel movements, similar to
hemorrhoids,” says Dr. Fagundes.
A unique device, however, significantly reduces the risk of potential rectal
side effects from radiation. SpaceOAR VueTM Hydrogel (the OAR stands for
Organ At Risk) is a safe, water-based, perirectal spacer gel that shifts
the rectum away from the prostate during radiation treatment. When it
was originally introduced in 2015, it was the first – and remains
the only – hydrogel perirectal spacer approved by the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration (FDA). And, notably, Dr. Fagundes was the first
to use the device in conjunction with proton therapy to treat prostate
cancer patients.
“When we protect the rectum with SpaceOAR hydrogel, we can more safely
deliver a high radiation
dose to the prostate to kill the cancer cells, while minimizing any significant
radiation-induced injury to the rectum,” says Dr. Fagundes, who
was already world-renowned as a pioneer user of rectal spacers by the
time he arrived at Miami Cancer Institute in 2016. “It also allows
us to safely escalate the radiation dose, if needed, to even further improve
the outcomes of radiotherapy.” Patients who undergo radiation therapy
with prostate-rectal spacing, he adds, are much more likely to maintain
normal bowel function during and after treatment.