[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 47 (Wednesday, April 24, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E619-E620]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                     TREATMENT FOR PROSTATE CANCER

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. PATRICK J. KENNEDY

                            of rhode island

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 24, 2002

  Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island. Mr. Speaker, I wish to insert into the 
Record a study published by Health Policy R&D. The study investigates 
the promise of the use of brachytherapy as a treatment for prostate 
cancer.

Study Summary--Brachytherapy: A Desirable and Cost Effective Option for 
                    the Treatment of Prostate Cancer

       Brachytherapy (pronounced ``brake-e-therapy'') is a cancer 
     therapy that offers individuals with prostate cancer an 
     effective treatment with lower risks of potentially 
     devastating side effects than the leading clinical 
     alternatives. Brachytherapy is a form of radiation treatment 
     in which a radioactive isotope--or ``seed''--is inserted 
     directly into a patient's prostate. Nearly 200,000 men are 
     diagnosed with prostate cancer each year.
       This study has been prepared to educate individuals about 
     brachytherapy with hard data and facts. It provides an 
     overview of the science behind brachytherapy, its clinical 
     impact, the relative cost advantages it offers and the 
     improved quality of life it offers to prostate cancer 
     survivors.
       This study reveals that if just one in eight men diagnosed 
     with prostate cancer chose brachytherapy over radical 
     prostatectomy, our health care system would save nearly $93 
     million annually in direct treatment costs, based on Medicare 
     data. Society would save an additional $46 million by 
     avoiding expensive complications and lost work time.
       Clinical Advantages of Brachytherapy--Lower Rates of 
     Serious Side Effects: Typically a 45-minute outpatient 
     procedure, brachytherapy treats early-stage prostate cancer 
     as well as or better than the alternatives of radical 
     prostatectomy (surgical excision of the prostate) and 
     external beam radiation. In addition, complications occur 
     less frequently in brachytherapy than with radical 
     prostatectomy (still the most common treatment), including--
     lower risks of erectile dysfunction (also known as 
     impotence), lower risks of urinary incontinence, lower risks 
     of other significant complications, including surgical 
     mortality.
       Cost-Effectiveness of Brachytherapy: Brachytherapy offers 
     not only clinically effective treatment, but also cost-
     effective treatment. Specifically, brachytherapy offers two 
     tiers of cost savings: lower direct treatment costs than 
     radical prostatectomy and lower indirect costs for treatment 
     and mitigation of serious complications.
       This study considers the costs that could be avoided 
     annually if just one in eight men of the nearly 200,000 men 
     annually diagnosed with prostate cancer chose brachytherapy 
     over the most common alternative: surgical removal of the 
     prostate. The resulting savings breaks down as follows: $93 
     million in direct savings for direct treatment costs, $21.3 
     million in treatment costs for erectile dysfunction, $14.6 
     million in costs to address urinary incontinence, $25 million 
     for lost productivity.
       The assumptions in this study are conservative. The 
     estimate of savings due to brachytherapy would be even higher 
     if additional considerations were quantified, such

[[Page E620]]

     as loss of life from surgical mortality or deteriorations in 
     quality of life from various complications due to radical 
     prostatectomy.

     

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