Transperineal injection of hyaluronic acid in anterior perirectal fat to decrease rectal toxicity from radiation...

Rectal toxicity remains a serious complication affecting quality of life for prostate cancer patients treated with radiotherapy. We began an investigational trial injecting hyaluronic acid (HA) in the perirectal fat to increase the distance between the prostate and the anterior rectal wall. This is the first report using HA injection in oncology.

This is a trial of external beam radiation therapy with HDR brachytherapy boosts in prostate cancer. During the two high-dose-rate (HDR) fractions, thermoluminescent dosimeter dosimeters were placed in the urethra and in the rectum. Before the second HDR fraction, 3-7 mL (mean, 6 mL) of HA was injected under transrectal ultrasound guidance in the perirectal fat to systematically create a 1.5-cm space. Urethral and rectal HDR doses were calculated and measured. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging were used to assess the stability of the new space.

Twenty-seven patients enrolled in the study. No toxicity was produced from the HA or the injection. In follow-up computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, the HA injection did not migrate or change in mass/shape for close to 1 year. The mean distance between rectum and prostate was 2.0 cm along the entire length of the prostate. The median measured rectal dose, when normalized to the median urethral dose, demonstrated a decrease in dose from 47.1% to 39.2% (p < 0.001) with or without injection. For an HDR boost dose of 1150 cGy, the rectum mean Dmax reduction was from 708 cGy to 507 cGy, p < 0.001, and the rectum mean Dmean drop was from 608 to 442 cGy, p < 0.001 post-HA injection.

The new 2-cm distance derived from the HA injection significantly decreased rectal dose in HDR brachytherapy. Because of the several-month duration of stability, the same distance was maintained during the course of external beam radiation therapy.