Amid questions about cost and access, proton therapy set for ‘big moment of change’

August 26, 2021

More than 3 decades after receiving FDA approval, proton beam radiation therapy has failed to find a footing as a go-to treatment for many cancers in the United States. About three dozen proton therapy facilities are in operation nationwide — fewer than one per state — limiting accessibility in some regions.

Several other factors have limited proton therapy’s adoption, including cost concerns, technological advances in photon therapy, and a lack of comprehensive and comparable data to advance the science. In addition, reimbursement from insurers remains inconsistent.

“It is truly an injustice to the patient when they would benefit from this treatment but cannot get it,” J. Isabelle Choi, MD, clinical director and director of research at New York Proton Center, radiation oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and chair of National Association for Proton Therapy’s physician advisory committee, told HemOnc Today. “It is up to all of us to come together, do the homework, do the legwork and continue to move things forward to improve access.”

 

Read the source article at Healio
2021-08-25 19:30:03

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