PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - SCOTT M. GLASER AU - RONNY KALASH AU - DANTE R. BONGIORNI AU - MARK S. ROBERTS AU - GOUNDAPPA K. BALASUBRAMANI AU - BRUCE L. JACOBS AU - SUSHIL BERIWAL AU - DWIGHT E. HERON AU - JOEL S. GREENBERGER TI - Challenges in the Analysis of Outcomes for Surgical Compared to Radiotherapy Treatment of Prostate Cancer DP - 2018 Jan 01 TA - In Vivo PG - 113--120 VI - 32 IP - 1 4099 - http://iv.iiarjournals.org/content/32/1/113.short 4100 - http://iv.iiarjournals.org/content/32/1/113.full SO - In Vivo2018 Jan 01; 32 AB - Background/Aim: Prostate cancer can be treated with radical prostatectomy (RP), external-beam radiotherapy (EBRT), or brachytherapy (BT). These modalities have similar cancer-related outcomes. We used an innovative method to analyze the cost of such treatment. Materials and Methods: We queried our Institution's Insurance Division [University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) Health Plan] beneficiaries from 2003-2008, who were diagnosed with prostate cancer and also queried the UPMC tumor registry for all patients with prostate cancer treated at our Institution. In a de-identified manner, data from the Health Plan and Tumor Registry were merged. Results: A total of 354 patients with non-metastatic disease with treatment initiated within 9 months of diagnosis were included (RP=236, EBRT=55, and BT=63). Radiotherapy-treated patients tended to be older, higher-risk, and have more comorbidities. Unadjusted median total health care expenditures during the first year after diagnosis were: RP: $16,743, EBRT: $47,256, and BT: $23,237 (p<0.0005). A propensity score-matched model comparing RP and EBRT demonstrated median total health care expenditures during year one: RP: $8,189, EBRT: $10,081; p=0.48. In a propensity-matched model comparing RP and BT, the median total health care expenditures during year one were: RP: $18,143, BT: $26,531; p=0.015 and per year during years 2 through 5 from diagnosis were: RP: $5,913, BT: $6,110; p=0.68. Conclusion: This pilot study demonstrates the feasibility of combining healthcare costs from the payer's perspective with clinical data from a Tumor Registry within an IDFS and represents a novel approach to investigating the economic impact of cancer treatment.