Optimizing Hydrogel Spacer Use in Prostate Cancer Radiotherapy

Recent advances in prostate cancer radiotherapy have prioritized techniques that minimize treatment-related toxicity and enhance patient quality of life. Among the most promising innovations is the use of hydrogel spacers, which create a physical barrier between the prostate and rectum, thereby reducing radiation exposure to healthy rectal tissue. As the adoption of hydrogel spacers becomes more widespread, both clinical outcomes and technical strategies for optimizing their use are rapidly evolving.

Despite demonstrated reductions in rectal toxicity and improved patient comfort, several critical questions remain regarding optimal hydrogel spacer application. There is ongoing debate about the best placement techniques, the effect of prostate biopsy type on spacer integrity, and the feasibility of safely escalating radiation doses. At the same time, challenges related to long-term outcomes, rare complications, and real-world adoption, including cost-effectiveness and accessibility, underscore the need for continued investigation. By systematically evaluating technical, clinical, and patient-centered outcomes, the field can move toward developing standardized protocols that maximize the benefits of spacers in diverse clinical settings.

This Research Topic invites submissions exploring, but not limited to, the following areas:
• Comparative studies of hydrogel spacer insertion techniques and their impact on rectal dose reduction.
• Correlations between hydrogel spacer placement quality, dosimetric outcomes, and patient-reported benefits.
• Influence of different prostate biopsy strategies on subsequent spacer placement and performance.
• Long-term follow-up and real-world implementation studies, including cost-effectiveness, access, and training.
• Reports on immediate and delayed complications, technical innovations, and material advancements.
• Evaluation of hydrogel spacer use in dose escalation scenarios and special patient populations.

We welcome a variety of manuscript types, including original research, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, technical briefs, case series, and opinion pieces. Contributions that bridge technical rigor with clinical applicability, especially those highlighting quality of life and health equity, are strongly encouraged.

Please note: manuscripts consisting solely of bioinformatics, computational analysis, or predictions of public databases which are not accompanied by validation (independent clinical or patient cohort, or biological validation in vitro or in vivo, which are not based on public databases) are not suitable for publication in this journal.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Clinical Trial
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Clinical Trial
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Hydrogel Spacer, Prostate Cancer, Radiotherapy, Rectal Toxicity, Spacer Placement, Dosimetry, Quality Of Life, Dose Escalation, Cost-Effectiveness

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.