ArticleBrachytherapy
Quantifying geometric and dosimetric advantage from the use of rectal spacing in HDR prostate brachytherapy.
Article in Brachytherapy. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Same-day Hyaluronic Acid rectal spacer for TRUS-guided HDR Prostate Brachytherapy: Feasibility and dosimetric outcomes.Journal of applied clinical medical physics · 2026Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
introductionRectal spacers are used during prostate external beam radiation therapy to increase rectal-prostate separation, thereby reducing rectal dose and toxicity. However, their role in high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy remains less understood. This paper presents (i) a cohort study evaluating the dosimetric impact of rectal spacers in HDR prostate brachytherapy and (ii) a simulation study assessing how rectal-prostate separation affects dosimetry.
methodsWe retrospectively analyzed 157 patients treated with 15 Gy HDR prostate boost brachytherapy. Patients were divided into preimplant spacer (n = 49) and nonspacer (n = 108) cohorts. Prostate and rectal dose-volume histogram (DVH) metrics were compared, and rectal-prostate separation was measured on intraoperative transrectal ultrasound. A custom linear programming optimizer simulated plans with separations of 0.5-12 mm in 30 nonspacer cases to evaluate resulting dose metrics.
resultsMean (± standard deviation) rectal-prostate separation was 7.8 ± 1.4 mm with spacer versus 4.0 ± 1.4 mm without spacer. Rectal dose was significantly reduced with spacer (mean D
conclusionRectal spacers significantly reduce rectal dose in HDR prostate brachytherapy. Patients with rectal-prostate separations of at least 4 mm are most likely to benefit.
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