On January 27, 2026, in the Class-100 laminar flow operating room at Guangzhou Concord Cancer Center (GCCC), a surgical team performed the "SpaceOAR Hydrogel Rectal Spacer Implantation" for a prostate cancer patient. The entire procedure took just 20 minutes — precise, safe, and the patient was discharged after only 1–2 hours of observation.
This was more than a successful surgery. It marked GCCC as one of the first medical institutions in China to adopt this cutting-edge international technology, and signaled a new era of precision for prostate cancer radiotherapy in Guangdong.
Notably, the patient himself is a healthcare professional. After thorough research into advanced technologies, he proactively chose this approach. His decision reflects both a careful consideration of quality of life and a professional's endorsement of the technology's value. For him, that precisely injected layer of transparent gel represents not just a resorbable physical buffer, but an active investment in treatment safety and quality of life.
Injecting a "Protective Layer": Creating a Safe Distance
Radiotherapy is one of the most important curative treatments for low- to intermediate-risk prostate cancer. Extensive clinical studies have confirmed that its long-term efficacy is comparable to radical prostatectomy.
However, radiotherapy faces a persistent clinical challenge: the anatomical proximity of the prostate to the rectum means that high-dose radiation targeting the tumor may cause collateral damage to the rectum, leading to radiation proctitis and related bowel symptoms (bleeding, diarrhea, etc.). This not only impacts quality of life but can sometimes limit the completion of the full radiotherapy course.
GCCC's successful application of SpaceOAR hydrogel rectal spacer technology provides an innovative solution to this challenge. The technology uses a sterile, absorbable, single-use polymer hydrogel, precisely injected between the prostate and rectum to create a temporary physical separation of approximately 1.2 cm, pushing the anterior rectal wall away from the high-dose radiation zone during treatment.
Key Clinical Benefits
- Rectal Protection: Increases the prostate-rectum distance, significantly reducing rectal radiation dose and the incidence of radiation enterotoxicity, improving post-radiotherapy quality of life.
- Functional Preservation: Reduces radiation impact on surrounding critical tissues, helping to preserve sexual function.
- Safe & Biodegradable: The hydrogel has excellent biocompatibility and is gradually absorbed and hydrolyzed by the body approximately 3 months after completing radiotherapy.
- Enhanced Treatment Safety & Compliance: Enables patients to complete the full curative radiotherapy course more safely and comfortably.
From Precision Protection to Precision Strike: Proton Therapy Delivers Superior Benefits
While SpaceOAR builds a critical safety barrier, GCCC is equally committed to bringing advanced radiotherapy technologies into clinical practice for better treatment outcomes.
Proton therapy, one of the most advanced modalities in radiotherapy, leverages its unique "Bragg peak" physical property to concentrate radiation dose precisely within the prostate tumor, minimizing damage to surrounding normal organs and tissues, and reducing bladder and rectal toxicity.
Research shows proton therapy can reduce radiation to organs near the prostate by 80%, minimizing exposure to the bladder, bowel, and surrounding healthy tissue. Men treated with proton therapy also show lower rates of impotence and incontinence. Clinical data from the University of Florida Proton Therapy Institute shows that the incidence of Grade 3 or higher rectal side effects after proton treatment for low-to-intermediate risk prostate cancer is just 0.9%.
As South China's first proton therapy center in clinical operation, the GCCC Proton Therapy Center strictly follows MD Anderson Cancer Center radiotherapy guidelines and standard protocols, providing individualized, cutting-edge treatment plans. The center is equipped with the world-class Varian ProBeam® proton therapy system, led by nationally renowned experts with thousands of clinical cases in proton therapy.
Clinical Results at GCCC
Case 1 — Intermediate-Risk Prostate Acinar Adenocarcinoma: After 28 proton therapy sessions, serum PSA dropped significantly to 0.652 ng/mL. Follow-up imaging showed no signs of recurrence, and no significant toxicities were observed throughout treatment.
Case 2 — Post-Prostatectomy Residual Disease: After completing the same treatment course, PSA stabilized at a low level of 0.605 ng/mL. Subsequent follow-ups showed no evidence of tumor recurrence, and quality of life was not significantly affected.
"Overall, SpaceOAR hydrogel rectal spacer technology provides an important means of rectal protection for radiotherapy patients, while proton therapy represents the future direction of precision radiotherapy. Going forward, our hospital will continue to integrate the clinical application of multiple advanced technologies, delivering safer and more effective individualized treatment plans for patients, and better safeguarding their quality of life and functional health."
— Professor Qian Chaonan, President of Guangzhou Concord Cancer Center
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