Devices for Protecting the Rectum During Radiation Therapy of Prostate Cancer

摘要

The treatment of prostate cancer with radiation therapy has seen notable recent advances. The development of new technologies to improve radiotherapy has been motivated as much by the need to reduce toxicity, in particular to protect the rectum, as to improve cancer cure, and investigators continue to approach this effort from many directions. In this issue of The Journal Ben-Yosef et al (page 1401) introduce a novel technique to protect the rectum during radiotherapy. A balloon is implanted through the perineum anterior to the rectal wall and then filled with solution to physically separate the radiation target (prostate cancer) from healthy tissue (rectum). This device is innovative and the animal testing results are promising. However, as the authors concede further studies are needed