Logo image
Back
Challenges in the Analysis of Outcomes for Surgical Compared to Radiotherapy Treatment of Prostate Cancer
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Challenges in the Analysis of Outcomes for Surgical Compared to Radiotherapy Treatment of Prostate Cancer

Scott M Glaser, Ronny Kalash, Dante R Bongiorni, Mark S Roberts, Goundappa K Balasubramani, Bruce L Jacobs, Sushil Beriwal, Dwight E Heron and Joel S Greenberger
In vivo (Athens), v 32(1), pp 113-120
01 Jan 2018
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21873/invivo.11212
PMID: 29275307
Featured in Collection :   UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
url
https://doi.org/10.21873/invivo.11212View
Published, Version of Record (VoR) Open

Abstract

Adult Aged Aged, 80 and over Brachytherapy - economics Brachytherapy - methods Cost-Benefit Analysis Feasibility Studies Humans Insurance Benefits - economics Insurance Benefits - statistics & numerical data Male Middle Aged Outcome Assessment, Health Care - economics Outcome Assessment, Health Care - methods Pilot Projects Prostatectomy - economics Prostatectomy - methods Prostatic Neoplasms - pathology Prostatic Neoplasms - radiotherapy Prostatic Neoplasms - surgery Radiotherapy - economics Radiotherapy - methods Registries - statistics & numerical data
Prostate cancer can be treated with radical prostatectomy (RP), external-beam radiotherapy (EBRT), or brachytherapy (BT). These modalities have similar cancer-related outcomes. We used an innovative method to analyze the cost of such treatment. We queried our Institution's Insurance Division [University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) Health Plan] beneficiaries from 2003-2008, who were diagnosed with prostate cancer and also queried the UPMC tumor registry for all patients with prostate cancer treated at our Institution. In a de-identified manner, data from the Health Plan and Tumor Registry were merged. A total of 354 patients with non-metastatic disease with treatment initiated within 9 months of diagnosis were included (RP=236, EBRT=55, and BT=63). Radiotherapy-treated patients tended to be older, higher-risk, and have more comorbidities. Unadjusted median total health care expenditures during the first year after diagnosis were: RP: $16,743, EBRT: $47,256, and BT: $23,237 (p<0.0005). A propensity score-matched model comparing RP and EBRT demonstrated median total health care expenditures during year one: RP: $8,189, EBRT: $10,081; p=0.48. In a propensity-matched model comparing RP and BT, the median total health care expenditures during year one were: RP: $18,143, BT: $26,531; p=0.015 and per year during years 2 through 5 from diagnosis were: RP: $5,913, BT: $6,110; p=0.68. This pilot study demonstrates the feasibility of combining healthcare costs from the payer's perspective with clinical data from a Tumor Registry within an IDFS and represents a novel approach to investigating the economic impact of cancer treatment.

Metrics

9 Record Views
2 citations in Web of Science
2 citations in Scopus

Details

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#3 Good Health and Well-Being

InCites Highlights

Data related to this publication, from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool:

Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Logo image