Monday, December 17, 2012

Proton-Beam Treatment for Prostate Tumors No Better Than Radiation


In a finding likely to add fuel to the debate over treatments for prostate cancer, proton-beam therapy provided no long-term benefit over traditional radiation despite far higher costs, according to a study of 30,000 Medicare beneficiaries published Thursday in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
The main emphasis of this article and my main reason for posting it, is the cost of proton-beam treatment is more costly but the outcomes compared to traditional radiation are negligible. 

Critics long have cited proton-beam therapy as a costly new technology with no proven advantage. Medicare pays over $32,000 per patient for proton therapy, compared with under $19,000 for radiation, according to the study.
But, possibly an even larger debate with greater cost, both financially and physically, is the over treatment of slow growing prostate tumors.

Some 242,000 men in the U.S. are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year, and many oncologists and health-policy experts say the condition is over-treated  Most prostate cancers are slow-growing, so many men could avoid treatment and ultimately die of something else, experts say. But about 28,000 U.S. men die annually from aggressive prostate cancers that aren't treated in time, so most men opt to treat their cancers as a precaution, either with radiation or surgery.

 Read the entire Article: Wall Street Journal 12/14/2012


The future of American Healthcare is going to change and the cost of treatment in relationship to outcomes and side effects will certainly be on the forefront of whether a treatment will be made available to the masses.

More research on proton beam treatment will be required to form a policy for federal and group health insurance plans but those with the ability to pay will always have Proton-beam treatment as an option; but will they need it?

Work Smarter; Not Harder!

Dr. David Marcon
Marcon Chiropractic & Wellness Center
Cincinnati, Ohio 45255
www.marconchiropractic.com

1 comment:

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