Radiation oncologists ‘deeply disturbed’ by recent NBC News report on key cancer therapy
Radiation oncologists are “deeply disturbed” by a recent NBC News report on a key breast cancer therapy.
The outlet on Oct. 7 published a piece exploring the use of intraoperative radiation therapy, or IORT, which delivers a single, targeted dose to a patient’s breast tissue after surgery. It costs less in both time and money when compared to traditional radiation treatments and is “far less grueling.”
However, NBC News contends the treatment is not as widely available in the U.S. as it used to be, based on interviews with a dozen breast surgeons. That’s because IORT purportedly cuts into the revenue of doctors and hospitals, which rely on the “far larger sums of money generated by traditional radiation treatments.”
“Radiation oncologists are very powerful—they make so much money for the hospitals,” breast surgeon Alice Police, MD, who has set up three IORT programs in the U.S., told NBC. ““Even though the [IORT] data is awesome and the benefit to the patient is just enormous, they call it experimental,” she added, noting that the American Society for Radiation Oncology, or ASTRO, does not recommend IORT outside of clinical trials.
ASTRO slammed the report in a news update published Oct. 9, saying it “takes seriously any public mischaracterization of radiation therapy.”
“We are deeply disturbed by a recent NBC News story on intraoperative radiation therapy for breast cancer that presented inaccurate and misleading information, because such reporting risks confusing patients and undermining trust in evidence-based medicine,” the society said Thursday.
ASTRO emphasized that its guideline development process is “rigorous, involving standardized methodology, independent data review, multidisciplinary input and thorough peer review.” In particular, the panel—which developed guidelines related to partial breast irradiation for patients with early-stage invasive cancer—included a multidisciplinary team of experts across surgery, oncology and medical physics. ASTRO developed the document in collaboration with others including the Society of Surgical Oncology, and several international trade groups have endorsed the recommendations.
“ASTRO guidelines are published based on robust data evaluating clinical data and patient outcomes. At no point are financial considerations factored in, and there is a strict firewall between the data analysis and any financial implications for the physician practice,” the society said in its announcement. “As of now, IORT has not been proven to have the value of other methods of partial breast irradiation,” it added later.
The American Society for Radiation Oncology said it “strongly supports” partial breast irradiation for a growing population of patients. Its guidelines reflect such support, “expanding eligibility based on maturing data.”
“However, our endorsement is reserved for techniques with proven efficacy and patient safety,” ASTRO said. “Should future long-term data demonstrate that IORT offers comparable outcomes to other [accelerated partial breast irradiation] techniques, ASTRO would consider revisiting the recommendations accordingly,” it added later.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.