Prostate Cancer Patient Outcomes and Choice of Providers: Development of an Infrastructure for Quality Assessment
Abstract
Prostate cancer is the most common solid malignancy diagnosed in American men. More than half of the new cases identified each year are localized prostate cancer, an early stage of the disease in which the tumor is confined to the prostate. The usual approach to localized prostate cancer includes radical prostatectomy, radiation therapy, or watchful waiting. Unfortunately, clear evidence about the comparative efficacy of these treatments is lacking; and, even untreated, most men with early stage prostate cancer have a life expectancy comparable to similarly aged men without prostate cancer. The most common potential long-term complications after treatment include urinary incontinence, impotence, and bowel dysfunction. The rates of these complications reported by different researchers and institutions in the scientific literature vary substantially. Although this variability may simply reflect differences in the patients included (case-mix) or the ways in which the data were collected, it does raise concern that widespread variation exists in the quality of treatment provided for men with prostate cancer across the United States.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2000
- Accession Number
- ADA381288
Entities
People
- Jennifer Malin
- John Naitoh
- Kimberly A. Mcguigan
- Mark S. Litwin
- Michael B Steinberg
Organizations
- RAND Corporation