Prostate-screening advice hits company

New advice for prostate-cancer screens is hitting one company hard.

Daniel Dosoretz, the president and CEO of Radiation Therapy Services in Fort Myers, says there have been “meaningful” declines in the treatment of prostate cancer at the centers the company operates around the country.

The company operates 126 treatment centers, including 94 centers located in 15 U.S. states, clustered in 28 local markets. The company also operates 31 centers located in six countries in Latin America and one center located in India.

There's considerable debate among government health regulators and physicians about the value of prostate-cancer screening for healthy men and whether to treat the disease aggressively.

Dosoretz says in a statement that his firm's declines result from a recent recommendation from the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force against PSA testing and prostate cancer screening for men with a life expectancy of more than 10 years.

“Additionally, we believe an increase in the percentage of patients who, in consultation with their physicians, are choosing not to be actively treated but instead pursuing active surveillance regimens is also affecting treatment volumes,” says Dosoretz.