Advanced Urology Institute Announces Use of SpaceOAR® Hydrogel

PANAMA CITY, Fla., March 8, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Advanced Urology Institute/Bay Regional Cancer Center is pleased to offer an innovative system for men choosing to undergo radiation therapy for prostate cancer. SpaceOAR hydrogel acts as a protective spacer between the prostate and the rectum and has been clinically proven to reduce the risk of side effects from radiation treatment.

AUI /BRCC, based in Panama City, FL, was one of only three centers in the southeast to offer this novel approach as it developed. Patients who choose the new gel technique receive a local or general anesthesia in an outpatient setting. The gel is injected as a liquid and then solidifies, remaining in place for three months during prostate radiotherapy. It then liquefies, is absorbed by the body and cleared in the patient's urine. SpaceOAR hydrogel is placed by Dr. Steven Eric Finkelstein M.D., FACRO, radiation oncologist and Dr. Michael Jenkins, M.D., a leading urologist at AUI.

"There is clinical evidence that the temporary gel can reduce complications from radiation therapy and help men avoid side effects they fear most – incontinence and erectile dysfunction," said Dr. Finkelstein.

Dr. Finkelstein is a leading national and international expert in treating prostate cancer. He matriculated in a combined medical degree program when he was 16, and graduated cum laude from Michigan in 1997. His initial advanced oncologic training was at the National Cancer Institute in Surgical Oncology and Immunotherapy. Dr. Finkelstein has published journal articles and book chapters resulting in 5000+ reference citations. Recognizing the impact he could have as a radiation oncologist, Dr. Finkelstein joined Moffitt Cancer Center completing chief residency and 21st Century Oncology as National Director of Translational Research. After bridging gaps for patients in clinical trial availability in community oncology settings, he became Chief Science Officer in 2014. He has received numerous awards across specialties including 2015 ACRO highest-rated-abstract. He serves as co-Chair NRG-Immunotherapy-Committee, Chair SWOG-Radiation-STG-Committee, editor ASCO Publications, and Editor-In-Chief Contemporary Radiation Oncology. In 2017, he was recruited as Cancer Center Director for BRCC / AUI.

In April 2015, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared SpaceOAR hydrogel. In a prospective, randomized, multi-center clinical trial in the United States, patients treated with SpaceOAR hydrogel prior to prostate cancer radiation treatment demonstrated bowel, urinary, and sexual benefits through 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 is a minimally invasive outpatient procedure and patients can immediately resume their normal activities.

For more information, visit AdvancedUrologyInstitute.com or SpaceOAR.com.

1) Hamstra DA, Mariados N, Sylvester J, et al. Continued Benefit to Rectal Separation for Prostate Radiation Therapy: Final Results of a Phase III Trial. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys; 2017 Apr 1; 97(5): 976-985.

MEDIA CONTACT:
MIRIAM WILLIAMS
MIRIAM.WILLIAMS(at)AUIHEALTH(dot)COM
850-785-8557

SOURCE Advanced Urology Institute