Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40445898›Full record

ArticlePloS one2025

Costs of non-metastatic prostate cancer treatment among privately insured men in the United States.

Ashley J Housten, Su-Hsin Chang, Hannah E Rice, Allison J L'Hotta, Eric H Kim, Bettina F Drake, Joanna L Buss, Mary C Politi

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing 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

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. 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

8 authors.

Ashley J HoustenDepartment of Surgery, Division of Public Health Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7379-0678
Su-Hsin ChangDepartment of Surgery, Division of Public Health Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America.
Hannah E RiceDepartment of Surgery, Division of Public Health Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America.
Allison J L'HottaDepartment of Surgery, Division of Public Health Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7825-2492
Eric H KimDepartment of Surgery, Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, University of Nevada Reno School of Medicine, Reno, Nevada, United States of America.
Bettina F DrakeDepartment of Surgery, Division of Public Health Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America.
Joanna L BussDepartment of Medicine, Institute for Informatics, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, Missouri, United States of America.
Mary C PolitiSchool of Public Health, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundOur objective was to quantify the cumulative total and out-of-pocket (OOP) costs for 3 non-metastatic prostate cancer treatment modalities: radiation, surgery, and conservative management at intervals of 1-, 3-, and 5-years post-diagnosis. We predicted these cumulative costs for a typical patient to improve cost transparency, facilitate conversations about potential costs, and to help advance non-metastatic prostate cancer cost evaluation.

methodsWe used Merative™ MarketScan® Commercial Database data from 2007-2020. The cumulative total costs evaluated from the healthcare sector perspective were patient, clinician, and system/facility costs. We used descriptive statistics to summarize the sociodemographic characteristics of the cohort and a multivariable regression model to estimate the association between each treatment option (radiation, surgery, conservative management) and costs with inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) to account for potential selection bias. We then predicted total and OOP costs defined by sample mode characteristics.

resultsThis cohort included 74,324 patients. Cumulative total and OOP costs were significantly higher for radiation (p < 0.0001) and for surgery (p < 0.0001) at Years 1, 3, and 5 compared to conservative management. For a typical patient, total cumulative cost estimates for conservative management at Years 1/3/5 were: $15,896/$33,436/$48,110 and the cumulative patient OOP costs were: $2,003/$4,540/$6,621. The cumulative total costs for surgery at Years 1/3/5 were: $38,348/$49,424/$60,885 and the cumulative OOP costs were: $2,980/$5,255/$7,221. The cumulative total costs for radiation at Years 1/3/5 were: $65,397/$77,859/$91,497 and the cumulative OOP costs were: $3,151/$5,481/$7,504.

conclusionsFor all years, the cumulative costs of radiation were highest, followed by surgery and conservative management, respectively. Radiation as the first treatment modality had higher costs compared to surgery and conservative management at the 3 time points. IMPACT: These cost estimates support non-metastatic prostate cancer treatment related cost transparency. These estimates can help researchers evaluate costs and facilitate patient-clinician cost conversations.

Indexed as

Health Care CostsInsurance, HealthProstatic NeoplasmsAgedHealth ExpendituresHumansMaleMiddle AgedUnited States

Identifiers

PMID40445898
PMCPMC12124492

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Registered trials

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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.