OBJECTIVES

: In 2005, a US-based randomized trial affirmed prior EU trials demonstrating no difference in pain relief between single- and multiple-fraction radiotherapy (SFR vs MFR) for prostate cancer patients with uncomplicated bone metastases (PCmb). A 2013 US study of 3050 PCmb patients treated from 2006-09 found only 3.3% received SFR. In that same year the Choosing Wisely (CW) program, which identifies low value interventions in healthcare, recommended the use of SFR for PCmb. We assessed the proportion of patients’ receiving SFR in the 5 years since the CW recommendations.

METHODS

: Adult men with PCmb and radiation treated from 1/1/2014 through 1/1/2018 were identified from a large, open-source U.S. payer claims database (≥ 1 claim for PC, ≥2 claims for bone metastases). Radiation treatment was distinguished by CPT code: 77427 for MFR, 77431 for SFR.

RESULTS

: