July 16, 2018 — Augmenix K.K. announced that SpaceOAR hydrogel, a soft, implanted absorbable gel spacer is now available to all prostate cancer radiotherapy patients in Japan through the Ministry of Health, Labour & Welfare (MHLW) national reimbursement. SpaceOAR hydrogel is clinically proven to assist in the decrease of unwanted side effects from radiotherapy treatment in patients with prostate cancer. 1,2
Throughout Japan, more than 86,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year. Many patients are successfully treated with various forms of radiotherapy. However radiation damage to the organs surrounding the prostate are known to cause long-term side effects including acute rectal pain, rectal bleeding, urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction. SpaceOAR hydrogel creates an average of 1.3cm of space between the prostate and the rectum, which has been clinically proven to reduce radiation exposure and prevent injury to the surrounding organs.1,2
SpaceOAR hydrogel is available nationally in Japan beginning June 25th, 2018 under the Reimbursement Category: ‘200 Bio absorbable material for Radiation Therapy’.
For more information: www.spaceoar.com
References
1. Hamstra D, et al. Continued Benefit to Rectal Separation for Prostate RT: Final Results of a Phase III Trial. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys; 2017 Volume 97, Issue 5, Pages 976–985.
2. Hamstra D, et al. Evaluation of sexual function on a randomized trial of a prostate rectal spacer. J Clin Oncol 35, 2017
May 03, 2025 
