BRG’s Pennington Cancer Center First in State with New Technology for Prostate Cancer Patients

BATON ROUGE, La. – Baton Rouge General’s Pennington Cancer Center is the first treatment center in Louisiana to utilize an innovative technology that helps patients with prostate cancer avoid some of the negative effects of radiation therapy. Last week, the first patient at Pennington Cancer Center was treated using SpaceOAR™ VUE Hydrogel, a radiopaque gel that creates a temporary space between the prostate and the rectum, minimizing the potential side effects and damage of radiation therapy.

“Providing SpaceOAR VUE Hydrogel as an option to further protect normal tissues demonstrates Pennington Cancer Center’s ongoing commitment to providing the best possible care to our patients by offering the latest innovations,” said Dr. Andrew Lauve, radiation oncologist.

Prostate cancer is the most common non-skin cancer in American men. More than 183,000 new cases are diagnosed each year, and more than 60,000 of these patients opt to treat the condition with radiation. However, due to the proximity of the rectum to the prostate, prostate radiation therapy can cause unintended damage to the rectum.

With SpaceOAR Vue Hydrogel, the treatment team has the option of using computerized tomography (CTs) scans for treatment planning when magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is determined to be too harmful.

“Prostate cancer patients may have medical conditions or past surgeries that prohibit the use of MRI to gather the necessary anatomic information we need to develop a radiation treatment plan for their cancer,” said Zack Smith, Director of Radiation Oncology. “The SpaceOAR VUE Hydrogel gives our team a great option to depend solely on CT in these cases, and also provides another valuable targeting landmark to guide the 30-42 treatment sessions typically prescribed for prostate cancer.”

For more information, click here or call (225) 237-1600.

About Baton Rouge General Medical Center
Baton Rouge General Medical Center is the area’s first community hospital with over 600 licensed beds between three campuses. Baton Rouge General opened its doors in 1900, and has provided the Greater Baton Rouge community with high-quality healthcare for generations. An accredited teaching hospital since 1991, Baton Rouge General is affiliated with several medical school programs, and offers other medical education programs, including a School of Nursing, School of Radiologic Technology, Family Medicine Residency Program, Internal Medicine Residency Program, and Sports Medicine Fellowship Program. For more information, visit BRGeneral.org, find us on Facebook at Facebook.com/BatonRougeGeneral and follow us on Twitter @BRGeneral and Instagram @batonrougegeneral.

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