IRCCS Institute Sacro Cuore – Don Calabria Hospital of Negrar-Verona, Italy is the first center in the world to have performed an SBRT treatment, in combination with hydrogel spacer SpaceOAR (Boston Scientific), to a patient with prostate cancer using MR-Linac.
Negrar (VR), Italy October 24th 2019
The use of the SpaceOAR allowed the keep the anterior wall of the rectum away from the prostate, target of the radiant treatment and to optimize the entire procedure MR image guided.
The patient received complete SBRT treatment for localized prostate cancer ending it on October 21st. This is a 73-year-old man with intermediate risk prostate cancer who chosen, as a curative approach to his disease, a radiation treatment with an extreme hypofractionated scheme.
The treatment was delivered in five consecutive days using an adaptive technique for an overall time, of each fraction, less than one hour. The hydrogel spacer was clearly visible on the T2 images of the on-board MR during each fraction.
It is therefore the first case in the world of adaptive prostatic SBRT with hydrogel spacer, monitored in real time with MR images.
The treatment was feasible, easy and completed without interruption in less than 45-60 minutes per fraction.
“The role of high quality 1.5 T MR images makes the difference in many situations, including prostate SBRT treatment, allowing to check and correct the treatment in real time, practically impossible with conventional IGRT systems” said Prof. Filippo Alongi, Head of Radiation Oncology department at Sacro Cuore-Don Calabria Institute of Negrar (VR) and associate professor at the University of Brescia. “We are proud to be the first cancer center in Italy and southern Europe to offer this breakthrough advance in precision radiation medicine to our patients.”
Prof. Alongi concludes by stating: “In the case of prostate SBRT, the use of SpaceOAR hydrogel spacer makes the entire procedure simpler and, above all, safer, reducing significantly the risk of undesirable effects.“