The use of advanced treatment technologies for prostate cancer has nearly doubled among men who are least likely to benefit, a JAMA study finds.

Researchers examined Medicare data to compare the use of different prostate cancer treatments between 2004 and 2009. Some 56,000 men with new prostate cancer diagnoses were included; advanced treatment technologies were defined as intensity-modulated radiotherapy and robotic prostatectomy.

The use of advanced technologies for men with low-risk disease rose from 32% in 2004 to 44% in 2009; among men at high risk for death from other causes within 10 years, the use of these treatments increased from 36% to 57%. Overall, advanced technologies among men unlikely to die from prostate cancer rose from 13% to 24%.

The researchers conclude: “Continued efforts to differentiate indolent from aggressive disease and to improve the prediction of patient life expectancy may help reduce the use of advanced treatment technologies in this patient population.”

Source: JAMA