Controversy and Confusion Surround Proton Therapy

With proton therapy's estimated price tag of $150-$200 million, debates about ROI and effectiveness remain unsettled.

2012-05-21

OREM, UT, May 21, 2012 (Press-News.org) In a new KLAS study titled "Proton Therapy 2012: Dollars, Decisions and Debates," the majority of participants said that concerns about market saturation and an estimated initial investment of $150-$200 million would likely prevent them from looking at proton therapy in the next five years.

"Besides cost, providers mention that ROI is a concern due to the patient referral base, staffing requirements, and ongoing maintenance costs," explained Monique Rasband, oncology research director and author of the report. "On the flip side, some currently operating centers have seen success and a return on their investment. Those centers are usually running 24 hours a day with two 8-hour shifts treating patients and another shift for maintenance and calibration."

The availability of smaller or single-vault proton therapy systems may change the landscape. With a price closer to $25 million, a single-vault system is only a fraction of the cost of a full-sized system, and some providers noted the availability of these smaller systems may cause them to take another look at proton therapy. There are currently several single-vault units under construction, and while they are still awaiting final FDA approval on the units, providers at those sites do not anticipate any issues.

"Mevion is having more recent success with their single-vault unit. Currently, they have three under construction and a few more that have been announced. In spite of not having any centers currently in operation, Mevion's marketing and relationships are paying off. They tied with IBA as the vendor providers would consider partnering with for proton therapy," said Rasband.

IBA has eight of the ten sites that are currently operating, and providers described IBA as the most "proven" vendor. IBA also has their first single-vault unit under construction, along with two full-size centers. IBA and Mevion were the two vendors most mentioned as ones providers said they would like to partner with. Rasband explained that although IBA is the leader in live sites for equipment, Elekta is clearly the software leader, with the most sites in both OIS and treatment planning software. Other vendors mentioned in the study were Elekta, Hitachi, Optivus, ProTom, Siemens, TomoTherapy, and Varian.

Many providers felt that clinical data comparing proton therapy's effectiveness with other, less expensive forms of treatment is limited because of the small number of live sites. Despite the lack of data, many providers said that proton therapy has a place--especially when it comes to treating children or tumors near critical structures like the eye and spinal cord.

"Treating prostate cancer with proton therapy is a hotly debated area. Some say that proton therapy has not been proven to do a better job than other treatment methods and that using proton therapy to treat prostates only drives up the cost of healthcare. On the other hand, some say that treatment with proton therapy yields better outcomes--one being fewer side effects--and that this is a case for its consideration. For children, most agree that proton therapy's ability to spare healthy tissue is worth the cost, but for adult patients, the jury is still out. Many would like to see more clinical data before taking a side," Rasband explained.

For those interested in learning more about the proton therapy market segment, the report "Proton Therapy 2012: Dollars, Decisions and Debates" is available to healthcare providers online for a significant discount. To purchase the report, providers and vendors can visit www.KLASresearch.com/KLASreports. Providers can participate in the research by evaluating a healthcare technology vendor they utilize at www.KLASresearch.com/eval and can log in to their KLAS account at www.KLASresearch.com for more information.

KLAS is a research firm specializing in monitoring and reporting the performance of healthcare vendors. KLAS' mission is to improve delivery by independently measuring vendor performance worldwide for the benefit of our healthcare provider partners, consultants, investors, and vendors. Working together with executives from over 4,500 hospitals and over 2,500 clinics, KLAS delivers timely reports, trends, and statistics that provide a solid overview of vendor performance in the industry. KLAS measures performance of software, professional services, medical equipment, and infrastructure vendors. For more information, go to www.KLASresearch.com, email marketing@KLASresearch.com, or call 1-800-920-4109 to speak with a KLAS representative. Follow KLAS on Twitter at www.twitter.com/KLASresearch.

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Controversy and Confusion Surround Proton Therapy

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