Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38771079›Full record

ArticleJournal of the Chinese Medical Association : JCMA2024

Survival outcomes of radium-223 therapy for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer following national health insurance reimbursement in Taiwan.

Shan-Fan Yao, William J Huang, Tzu-Chun Wei, Yuh-Feng Wang, Ko-Han Lin, Lien-Hsin Hu, Chien-Hsin Ting, Tse-Hao Lee, Skye Hsin-Hsien Yeh, Nan-Jing Peng

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of the Chinese Medical Association : JCMA, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
  3. Genomic insights for neuroendocrine prostate cancer.Journal of the Chinese Medical Association : JCMA · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Shan-Fan YaoDepartment of Nuclear Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
William J HuangDepartment of Urology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
Tzu-Chun WeiSchool of Medicine, College of Medicine, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
Yuh-Feng WangDepartment of Nuclear Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
Ko-Han LinDepartment of Nuclear Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
Lien-Hsin HuDepartment of Nuclear Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
Chien-Hsin TingDepartment of Nuclear Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
Tse-Hao LeeDepartment of Nuclear Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
Skye Hsin-Hsien YehSchool of Medicine, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
Nan-Jing PengDepartment of Nuclear Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundRadium-223 dichloride (Ra-223) prolongs overall survival (OS) in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) with symptomatic bone metastases. However, there is considerable variation in outcomes among individuals. We aimed to evaluate the prognostic determinants associated with patient survival following National Health Insurance (NHI) reimbursement for Ra-223 therapy in Taiwan.

methodsPatients with mCRPC who underwent Ra-223 treatment at Taipei Veterans General Hospital were retrospectively enrolled. Each intravenous Ra-223 dose was administered at 55 kBq/kg at 4-week intervals. Clinical outcomes were obtained from medical records; potential prognostic factors for survival were assessed. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to generate cumulative survival curves; between-group differences were evaluated using the Chi-squared test. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05.

resultsSeventy-six patients underwent Ra-223 therapy; 62 patients received NHI reimbursement and the remainder self-paid. Fifty patients (65.8%) completed six cycles of treatment; 26 (34.2%) received 1 to 5 cycles. Mortality occurred in 47 patients. Factors significantly associated with survival included ≤five bone metastases ( p = 0.0018), baseline prostate-specific antigen (PSA) ≤36 ng/mL ( p = 0.0004), baseline alkaline phosphate (ALP) <115 U/L ( p = 0.0007), and baseline hemoglobin (Hb) >12 g/dL ( p = 0.0029). Patients who completed six cycles of treatment achieved significantly higher OS compared to those who did not ( p < 0.0001). There has been a 4.4-fold increase in the number of patients since reimbursement began; there was no significant difference in OS between patients who received NHI reimbursement and those who self-paid.

conclusionAdministration of Ra-223 demonstrates considerable potential to extend the survival of patients with mCRPC. Survival outcomes may be influenced by various prognostic factors. However, no significant difference in OS was observed subsequent to reimbursement of Ra-223 therapy for mCRPC through the NHI system in Taiwan.

Indexed as

National Health ProgramsProstatic Neoplasms, Castration-ResistantRadiumAgedAged, 80 and overBone NeoplasmsHumansMaleMiddle AgedRadioisotopesRetrospective StudiesTaiwanRadioisotopesRadiumRadium-223

Identifiers

PMID38771079
PMCPMC12718832

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.