Research Shows Rapid Adoption of Newer, More Expensive Prostate Cancer Treatments
Summary
"We dont think these patterns are unique to prostate cancer, but used it as an example and found that in the United States, newer and more expensive technologies were rapidly adopted before we knew if they were worth the added cost, or in the case of robotic surgery, whether they provide benefits over standard treatment.After extrapolating these numbers to the total U.S. population, researchers report an additional of spending adding up to nearly $350 million in 2005 on newer treatment options when compared to the traditional and less costly alternative therapy for men diagnosed with prostate cancer."We dont think these patterns are unique to prostate cancer, but used it as an example and found that in the United States, newer and more expensive technologies were rapidly adopted before we knew if they were worth the added cost, or in the case of robotic surgery, whether they provide benefits over standard treatment.After extrapolating these numbers to the total U.S. population, researchers report an additional of spending adding up to nearly $350 million in 2005 on newer treatment options when compared to the traditional and less costly alternative therapy for men diagnosed with prostate cancer.In the case of robotic surgery, there are still uncertainties over what benefits it has over the open procedure," Nguyen said.This research was funded through grants from the Department of Defense and the JCRT Foundation.Brigham and Womens Hospital (BWH) is a 793-bed nonprofit teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School and a founding member of Partners HealthCare, an integrated health care delivery network.