Trends in Utilization and Medicare Spending on Short-Course Radiation Therapy for Breast and Prostate Cancer: An Episode-Based Analysis From 2015 to 2019

Ultra-hypofractionated one-week locoregional radiotherapy for patients with early breast cancer: Acute toxicity results

“…Fewer treatment fractions streamline healthcare logistics, decrease expenses, minimize waiting times, lower the risk of treatment interruption, and enhance patient comfort by reducing in-hospital time and treatment burden. This ultimately improves patient access to advanced radiation therapy [35] , [36] , [37] .…”

Financial Toxicity in Radiation Oncology

“…In addition to 2-year local control of 100% and lower field size, there was a decrease in the estimated average treatment cost of $3056 (range, $2651-$4335;P<0.001). In a study evaluating Medicare and Medicaid services data in breast cancer (BC) and prostate cancer (PC) patients, median total spending for short-course RT regimens among BC episodes was $9418 versus $13,602 for long-course RT [16]. Among PC patients, median total spending was $6924 for hypofractionation RT, $18,768 for moderate hypofractionation, and $27,319 for long-course RT.…”