Jeffrey H. Burkhardt

Comparing the Costs of Radiation Therapy and Radical Prostatectomy for the Initial Treatment of Early-Stage Prostate Cancer

PURPOSE Radical prostatectomy and external-beam radiation are the most common treatments for localized prostate cancer. Given the absence of clinical consensus in favor of one treatment or the other, relative costs may be a significant factor. This study compares the direct medical costs during the month before and 9 months after diagnosis for patients treated primarily with external-beam radiation or radical prostatectomy for early-stage prostate cancer. METHODS Patients age 65 or older and coded by the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) registry as having been diagnosed with adenocarcinoma of the prostate treated primarily with external-beam radiation or radical prostatectomy during 1992 and 1993 were identified. The initial treatment costs, as measured by Medicare-approved payment amounts, for each strategy were analyzed using linked SEER-Medicare claims data after adjusting for differences in comorbidity and age. An intent-to-treat analysis was also performed to adjust for differences in staging between the two groups. RESULTS For patients in the treatment-received analysis, the average costs were significantly different;

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14,048 (95% confidence interval [CI],

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13,765 to

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14,330) for radiation therapy and

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17,226 (95% CI,

Radiology Groups' Workload in Relative Value Units and Factors Affecting It

16,891 to

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17,560) for radical prostatectomy (P <.001). The average costs for patients in the intent-to-treat analysis were also significantly less for radiation therapy patients (

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14,048; 95% CI,

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13,765 to

Radiology Groups’ Workload Measured in Relative Value Units

14,330) than for those who underwent radical prostatectomy (