Advanced Treatment Tech aiding in Prostate Cancer

Over the past decade, advanced technologies have been introduced to potentially minimize the side effects of conventional prostate cancer treatments.  A new study examines the increased use of these more advanced treatments in patients with prostate cancer who had a lower probability of dying from the disease. “The two advanced treatment technologies are intensity modulated radiation therapy and a robotic prostatectomy.”  Dr. Brent Hollenbeck and co-authors studied Medicare beneficiaries 66-years and older diagnosed with prostate cancer between 2004 and 2009.   “The use of these advanced treatment technologies was relatively common among Medicare beneficiaries who were at low likelihood of dying from their prostate cancer.  The use of either robotic surgery or IMRT among those who had a high risk of non-cancer death increased from 36 percent in 2004 to 57 percent in 2009.”  The study appears in the Journal of the American Medical Association.