Patients with a Short Distance Between the Prostate and the Rectum Are Appropriate Candidates for Hydrogel Spacer Placement to Prevent Short-Term Rectal Hemorrhage After External-Beam Radiotherapy for Prostate Cancer.

ABSTRACT: Radiation therapy, including external-beam radiation therapy (EBRT) and brachytherapy, is curative for localized prostate cancer. Hydrogel spacer (HS) placement between the rectum and prostate is popular for reducing radiation-related complications. Criteria to identify patients who benefit from HS placement would be clinically valuable. In a retrospective analysis of 430 patients with localized prostate cancer treated between November 2010 and March 2023 with ≥2 years of follow-up, we evaluated the incidence of rectal hemorrhage and its association with the median distance at the midpoint between the prostate and the rectum (mDPR) on pretreatment MRI. Rectal hemorrhage occurred in 6% of HS cases and 18% of non-HS cases (p < 0.001). Among 268 patients who received EBRT (±brachythera

SUBMITTER: Owa S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12293744 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature