Spire Yale Hospital announces use of SpaceOAR® Hydrogel for prostate cancer radiation therapy

Spire Yale Hospital in Wrexham North Wales launches a new technology that offers protection for men choosing to undergo radiation therapy for prostate cancer.

SpaceOAR hydrogel, is a protective spacer between the prostate and the rectum. It has been clinically proven to reduce the risk of side effects during and after radiation treatment.

In April 2015, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared SpaceOAR hydrogel. In a prospective, randomised, multi-centre clinical trial in the United States, patients treated with SpaceOAR hydrogel prior to prostate cancer radiation treatment demonstrated bowel, urinary, and sexual benefits through a median of three years of follow-up. The study found that the patients that did not receive SpaceOAR hydrogel experienced a clinically significant decline in bowel, urinary, and sexual quality of life, eight times more often than patients that received SpaceOAR hydrogel.

It's a minimally invasive outpatient procedure with local or general anaesthesia and patients can immediately resume their normal activities. The gel stays in place for approximately three months and is then naturally absorbed and cleared in the urine in about six months.

Professor Shergill Consultant Urologist at Spire Yale Hospital said “Introducing Hydrogel to my private clinic at Spire Yale Hospital has allowed many patients in North Wales and Northwest England the benefit of a minimally invasive procedure for significant benefit whilst undergoing radiotherapy for prostate cancer. The day case procedure is well tolerated, and patients have given excellent feedback”.