Dr. Paul Kelly

So we either surgically remove the entire prostate or we irradiate it pretty homogeneously.

But what's different about this is that we're able to incorporate

the knowledge of where the tumor is, where are what we call our organs at risk, these tissues that are potentially in the firing line, and essentially decide we're going to minimize in one location, escalate in another.

And it's really just smart radiation therapy.

And the advantage of that for patients really is

reducing treatment related side effects.

And our focus in this is really focusing on urinary symptoms, although also the rectum or the lower end of the bowel is quite close by.

And this trial is also incorporating the ability to place a temporary gel between the prostate and the rectum, essentially to create a kind of buffer zone between the two, which can take the rectal dose out of the equation and reduce any risk of bowel side effects.

Yeah, so really the prostate is a gland.

And actually, physiologically, it just produces the liquid, actually, that's in the semen.

And really, biologically, it doesn't have any other function.

But for men, it's one of the commonest cancers that develop in men and with increasing incidence as they get older.

It is.

And I suppose surgery, the main risks with surgery and surgical advances, particularly with robotic techniques these days, have also reduced the impact of that operation on patients.

But I suppose surgery

compared to radiation, runs a slightly higher risk of patients developing some urinary incontinence by interfering with the kind of muscle mechanism that controls our ability to keep our bladders closed and open them when we want to pass urine.

But also the nerves that control erections are also very intimately related to the prostate, and they can get damaged either with the surgical approach or with the radiation approach.

Yes, that's a great question.

And really, there are different what are called phases of clinical trials.

So Inspire, the trial that we've just opened and is opening around the country, is what's called a phase two trial design.