Ablative therapy for people with localised prostate cancer: a systematic review and economic evaluation

Craig R Ramsay* (Corresponding Author), Temitope E Adewuyi, Joanne Gray, Jenni Hislop, Mark Df Shirley, Shalmini Jayakody, Graeme MacLennan, Cynthia Fraser, Sara MacLennan, Miriam Brazzelli, James N'Dow, Robert Pickard, Clare Robertson, Kieran Rothnie, Stephen P Rushton, Luke Vale, Thomas B Lam

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

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Abstract

BACKGROUND: For people with localised prostate cancer, active treatments are effective but have significant side effects. Minimally invasive treatments that destroy (or ablate) either the entire gland or the part of the prostate with cancer may be as effective and cause less side effects at an acceptable cost. Such therapies include cryotherapy, high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) and brachytherapy, among others.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to determine the relative clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of ablative therapies compared with radical prostatectomy (RP), external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) and active surveillance (AS) for primary treatment of localised prostate cancer, and compared with RP for salvage treatment of localised prostate cancer which has recurred after initial treatment with EBRT.

DATA SOURCES: MEDLINE (1946 to March week 3, 2013), MEDLINE In-Process & Other Non-Indexed Citations (29 March 2013), EMBASE (1974 to week 13, 2013), Bioscience Information Service (BIOSIS) (1956 to 1 April 2013), Science Citation Index (1970 to 1 April 2013), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (issue 3, 2013), Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR) (issue 3, 2013), Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE) (inception to March 2013) and Health Technology Assessment (HTA) (inception to March 2013) databases were searched. Costs were obtained from NHS sources.

REVIEW METHODS: Evidence was drawn from randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and non-RCTs, and from case series for the ablative procedures only, in people with localised prostate cancer. For primary therapy, the ablative therapies were cryotherapy, HIFU, brachytherapy and other ablative therapies. The comparators were AS, RP and EBRT. For salvage therapy, the ablative therapies were cryotherapy and HIFU. The comparator was RP. Outcomes were cancer related, adverse effects (functional and procedural) and quality of life. Two reviewers extracted data and carried out quality assessment. Meta-analysis used a Bayesian indirect mixed-treatment comparison. Data were incorporated into an individual simulation Markov model to estimate cost-effectiveness.

RESULTS: The searches identified 121 studies for inclusion in the review of patients undergoing primary treatment and nine studies for the review of salvage treatment. Cryotherapy [3995 patients; 14 case series, 1 RCT and 4 non-randomised comparative studies (NRCSs)], HIFU (4000 patients; 20 case series, 1 NRCS) and brachytherapy (26,129 patients; 2 RCTs, 38 NRCSs) studies provided limited data for meta-analyses. All studies were considered at high risk of bias. There was no robust evidence that mortality (4-year survival 93% for cryotherapy, 99% for HIFU, 91% for EBRT) or other cancer-specific outcomes differed between treatments. For functional and quality-of-life outcomes, the paucity of data prevented any definitive conclusions from being made, although data on incontinence rates and erectile dysfunction for all ablative procedures were generally numerically lower than for non-ablative procedures. The safety profiles were comparable with existing treatments. Studies reporting the use of focal cryotherapy suggested that incontinence rates may be better than for whole-gland treatment. Data on AS, salvage treatment and other ablative therapies were too limited. The cost-effectiveness analysis confirmed the uncertainty from the clinical review and that there is no technology which appears superior, on the basis of current evidence, in terms of average cost-effectiveness. The probabilistic sensitivity analyses suggest that a number of ablative techniques are worthy of further research.

LIMITATIONS: The main limitations were the quantity and quality of the data available on cancer-related outcomes and dysfunction.

CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate that there is insufficient evidence to form any clear recommendations on the use of ablative therapies in order to influence current clinical practice. Research efforts in the use of ablative therapies in the management of prostate cancer should now be concentrated on the performance of RCTs and the generation of standardised outcomes.

STUDY REGISTRATION: This study is registered as PROSPERO CRD42012002461.

FUNDING: The National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment programme.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1-524
Number of pages524
JournalHealth Technology Assessment
Volume19
Issue number49
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jul 2015

Bibliographical note

The research reported in this issue of the journal was funded by the HTA programme as project number 10/136/01. The contractual start date was in April 2012. The draft report began editorial review in October 2013 and was accepted for publication in April 2014. The authors have been wholly responsible for all data collection, analysis and interpretation, and for writing up their work. The HTA editors and publisher have tried to ensure the accuracy of the authors’ report and would like to thank the reviewers for their constructive comments on the draft
document. However, they do not accept liability for damages or losses arising from material published in this report.

Acknowledgements
We thank l the people recruited from the local UCAN for providing valuable consumer insight and advice through their participation as members of the project focus group:
- Mark Emberton (Professor of Interventional Oncology), Damian Greene (consultant urologist), Axel Heidenreich (Professor and Director of Department of Urology), Christoph von Klot (specialist in brachytherapy), Roger Kockelbergh (BAUS chairman and Clinical Director of Urology) and Axel Merserburger (Deputy Clinical Director of Urology and Urologic Oncology) for providing their clinical expertise as members of the project advisory group
- Edgar Paez (consultant urologist) and Gill Lawrence (Head of Radiotherapy Physics) for providing a list of staff time by grade and specialty involved in EBRT
- Debbie Bennett (Radiotherapy Service Manager) for providing estimates for the expected number of uses for EBRT
- Ian Pedley (clinical director/clinical oncologist) and Gill Lawrence for providing a list of all resource inputs relevant to brachytherapy
- Steve Locks (Consultant Clinical Scientist in Radiotherapy) for providing a list of reusable equipment and consumables used during brachytherapy, along with their unit costs
- Sue Asterling (urology research nurse) and Mark Kelly (Acting Divisional General Manager – Theatres) for providing a list of all resource inputs relevant to cryotherapy
- Lara Kemp for providing secretarial support.
The Health Services Research Unit is core funded by the Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Government Health Directorates.

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