Most readers will know by now that prostate cancer surgery results are significantly better at high-volume centers (see this link). Unsurprisingly, the same holds true for primary radiation treatment of high-risk patients. … READ MORE …
Filed under: Diagnosis, Management, Risk, Treatment | Tagged: mortality, outcome, radiation, therapy, volume | Leave a comment »
According to a newly published article in Urologic Oncology, at least 85 percent of all radical prostatectomies in America are now performed using robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP). Actually, this is hardly a surprise. However, … READ MORE …
Filed under: Management, Treatment | Tagged: experience, prostatectomy, quality, skill, volume | 13 Comments »
In yet another utterly unsurprising “research” finding, a new article in the Journal of Urology has shown that — in the USA — minority prostate cancer patients and prostate cancer patients treated under Medicaid are less likely to have their prostates removed at high-experience and high-volume hospitals where there is high use of robot-assisted surgical techniques. … READ MORE …
Filed under: Diagnosis, Living with Prostate Cancer, Management, Risk, Treatment | Tagged: access, Medicaid, minority, outcome, quality, surgery, volume | 5 Comments »
A media release issued by Henry Ford Health System earlier today has a distinctly misleading headline that reads as follows: “Higher hospital volume more important than surgeon experience in outcome of prostate cancer surgery.” You need to read the content of the media release with care to understand that this headline is by no means an accurate summation of the results of the study referred. … READ MORE …
Filed under: Diagnosis, Management, Risk, Treatment | Tagged: hospital, outcome, surgery, surgical, volume | 2 Comments »
In order to initially gain or maintain board certification, American urologists must (among other things) submit case logs to the American Board of Urology. A new study, published recently in the Journal of Urology, has used data from these case logs to assess current trends regarding the use of robot-assisted laparoscopic and open radical prostatectomy. … READ MORE …
Filed under: Management, Treatment | Tagged: open, radical prostatectomy, RALP, robot-assisted, volume | 5 Comments »
A new review by Epstein, currently available on line in the Journal of Urology, provides a detailed analysis of the clinical significance of various factors in determining prognostic risk for newly diagnosed and recently treated patients with localized prostate cancer. … READ MORE …
Filed under: Diagnosis, Living with Prostate Cancer, Management, Risk | Tagged: biopsy, clinical, core, pathologic, prognosis, quantification, stage, T2, tumor, volume | 10 Comments »
Back in March, a group of authors from three major medical centers published a report in the Journal for Healthcare Quality strongly suggesting that U.S. hospitals were inappropriately over-promoting the use of robot-assisted surgery for treatment of prostate cancer. … READ MORE …
Filed under: Management, Treatment | Tagged: hospital, outcome, promotion, radical prostatectomy, RALP, volume | Leave a comment »
