Recent research has found that injecting a tissue space in the prostate-rectal inter-space is an effective way to reduce the rectal dose for prostate cancer patients receiving radiation therapy. These results were presented at the Cancer Imaging and Radiation Therapy Symposium in Atlanta, sponsored by the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) and Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
Although prostate cancer is cured in over 90 percent of patients, reducing side effects from treatment complications remains an important concern. A more common side effect is damaging the rectum during treatment. For this reason, researchers wanted to determine if inserting an injectable tissue space would reduce the risks of radiation burns to the rectum.
Thirty-four prostate carcinoma patients were administered a tissue space compound to increase the separation between the prostate and the rectum in this study in addition to the radiation therapy they were receiving. They were imaged by MRI pre-injection and every two weeks until the end of treatment to monitor changes. The research tem found that the spacer produced an additional one centimeter on average separation between the prostate and rectum resulting in a significant reduction in the rectal dose administered, and it caused very little damage to the rectum.
Severe rectal radiation burns, the most serious risk of injury from the radiation were almost eliminated by injecting an absorbable material into the rectum. This allows the radiation oncologist to increase the dose to the posterior prostate without concern of damaging the rectum.
Kenneth Tokita, MD, senior author of the study and the founder and medical director of Cancer Center of Irvine said that reducing the risk of rectal injury from the treatment makes radiation therapy the treatment of choice for prostate cancer.
