Chemotherapy and Cryosurgery are underused prostate cancer treatments in the US, according to Millennium Research Group
June 25, 2008—Waltham, Massachusetts— Millennium Research Group (MRG) conducted a detailed survey of over 140 US and European based urologists during the recent 2008 American Urological Association (AUA) Annual Meeting. Results of this study are analyzed in the
US and European Urologist Survey: Prostate Cancer Treatment Trends 2008 report. Data from the study suggests that several minimally invasive prostate cancer treatment options are underused in both the US and Europe.
US urologists indicated that cryosurgery was underused, while European urologists felt that both cryosurgery and high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) were underused. In both regions, insufficient data supporting the treatments and the need to refer patients to another specialist were considered the leading barriers to adoption.
“These barriers will need to be addressed before utilization rates can increase notably,” says Barbara Prud’homme, Senior Analyst at Millennium Research Group. “Expensive equipment, poor results with early cryosurgery equipment, and physician familiarity with traditional treatments such as radical prostatectomy, have deterred many from performing these minimally invasive procedures. Moreover, many urologists see cryosurgery as a salvage operation after other treatments haven’t worked. One positive sign for the adoption of these treatments is that US and European urologists indicated that their use of these treatments had increased over the past year.”
Although urologists were underusing new minimally invasive treatments, they were aware of emerging treatment options, including gene therapy and autoimmune therapy. Urologists believed emerging treatments would eventually improve patient outcomes.
MRG’s
US and European Urologist Survey: Prostate Cancer Treatment Trends 2008 report examines urologists’ opinions on some of the industry’s most discussed technologies, including permanent implant brachytherapy, high dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy, cryotherapy, and HIFU.