To Further Advance Field of Prostate Cancer Care, Hackensack University Medical Center Conducts Clinical Trial to Study Nerve Recovery After Robotic Prostatectomy
Bioregenerative medicine accomplishes both nerve regeneration and a faster return to normal erectile and urinary function after robot-assisted prostate cancer surgery
Hackensack University Medical Center’s Department of Urology –among the first in the world to embrace bioregenerative medicine as a new way to promote nerve regeneration and a faster return to normal erectile and urinary function after robot-assisted prostate cancer surgery –is now enrolling patients in a clinical trial studying the benefits of CLARIX CORD 1K® (CLARIX). CLARIX is a cryopreserved umbilical cord and amniotic membrane matrix that is applied during surgery to the nerves that control erectile function.
“CLARIX contains growth factors that minimize inflammation, reduce scar tissue formation, and promote nerve healing, all of which may contribute to a faster return of erectile function as well as urinary continence —two important measures of a patient’s quality of life after prostate cancer surgery,” said Ravi Munver, M.D., vice chairman and chief of Minimally Invasive & Robotic Urologic Surgery at Hackensack University Medical Center’s Department of Urology.
Bioregenerative matrices for restoring potency have shown encouraging results in early retrospective series —and some studies suggest that they may also result in a faster return to continence. However, many of these previous studies involved using thinner, dehydrated products that only contained amniotic tissue. CLARIX combines the umbilical cord with the standard amniotic membrane to more quickly deliver increased healing benefits.
“The CLARIX product we use is different than previously studied products and provides several advantages,” said Dr. Munver. “CLARIX is cryopreserved, thicker, moister, easier to apply, and persists longer at the surgical site. It also contains more cytokines, which contribute to nerve regeneration.”
CLARIX retains all its natural structural and biological characteristics, but it does not include any living cells, which means CLARIX can be used safely without risk of infection or rejection.
In a retrospective study of 21 patients, Dr. Munver showed that men who received CLARIX experienced a faster return of erectile function after nerve-sparing robot-assisted prostatectomy than menwho did not receive CLARIX at six months after surgery. Dr. Munver presented an abstract detailing these findings at the World Congress of Endourology in 2018 and distinguished himself as among the first in the world to report data on this topic.
Backed by this encouraging retrospective data, Dr. Munver and team at Hackensack University Medical Center initiated the single-blinded clinical trial that began on January 30, 2020.