Use of Advanced Treatment Technologies Among Men at Low Risk of Dying From Prostate Cancer

Abstract

Prostate cancer is a common and expensive disease in the United States.^1,2 In part because of the untoward morbidity of traditional radiation and surgical therapies, advances in the treatment of localized disease have evolved over the last decade. Chief among these are the development of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and robotic prostatectomy. Although the evidence underlying these technologies is mixed,^3,4 both are generally perceived as being more targeted and less toxic than prior therapies. During a period of increasing population-based rates of prostate cancer treatment,^5,6 both of these advanced treatment technologies have disseminated rapidly.