WASHINGTON, June 26 AdMeTech-house-bill
Members call for federal, private commitment to advance imaging for early diagnosis and treatment
WASHINGTON, June 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The House of Representatives today approved historic legislation calling for increased support from the public and private sectors for the development of innovative advanced imaging technologies for early diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer - the most common major cancer in the United States and the second-most-lethal cancer in men.
House Resolution 353, introduced by Reps. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) and Dan Burton (R-Ind.), has broad bipartisan support, with more than 100 cosponsors. Reflecting the disproportionate impact of prostate cancer on the African-American community, including a 60 percent higher incidence rate and more than 2.5 times higher mortality rate, more than 30 members of the Congressional Black Caucus cosponsored the Resolution. Health Subcommittee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr., (D-N.J.) and 19 other members of the Energy and Commerce Committee also cosponsored the Resolution.
"Prostate cancer is a threat to every man. Thanks to the steadfast leadership of Rep. Cummings and strong support from Rep. Burton, Congress has taken an important first step in acknowledging the need for improved early diagnosis of prostate cancer as a national priority that is as important as breast cancer imaging. As with mammography, prostate imaging is expected to save lives, improve quality of life in millions of men and eliminate prostate cancer as a patient care crisis. Ultimately, accurate and affordable imaging technologies will reduce health care costs by at least $5 billion annually and end prostate cancer as a socio-economic problem," said AdMeTech Foundation President and CEO Faina Shtern, M.D.
"We and our partners in advocacy, academia, government and industry hope that this resolution will encourage the Administration and leaders at the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense to increase funding for research to improve early and accurate diagnosis, which is critical for the selection of the most effective and least invasive clinical interventions," added Dr. Shtern.
While prostate cancer has become more common than breast cancer, men do not have accurate and affordable diagnostic tools similar to life-saving breast cancer imaging for women.
Over the last 20 years, development of digital mammography, breast MRI and other imaging tools made it possible to detect breast cancer so early that diagnostic surgeries were replaced with precise, stereotactic needle biopsies, and radical mastectomies with minimally invasive lumpectomies.
Support of the federal government and strategic partnerships with advocacy groups, philanthropy, academia and industry will expedite the creation, testing and implementation of image-guided, minimally-invasive diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer, which can be performed in outpatient clinics with minimal discomfort, complications and costs.
Current diagnostics, including Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) tests, improved detection of early prostate cancer, but are often unreliable and result in false alarms, causing more than 1 million men to have unnecessary, traumatic biopsies every year at a cost of more than $2 billion to our health care system annually. They also result in unnecessary treatment in up to 55 percent of men with early-stage disease.
"When I was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1997, I had no real reference point for how to deal with the disease," said actor Barry Bostwick. "You know it's cancer. You have to deal with it, but there's a lot of second-guessing for patients when it comes to treatment options for this disease. I chose to have radical surgery to remove my prostate. While I still believe it was the right choice at that time, I now wonder if it was really necessary. With better tools, we will be able to take away that doubt."
On the other hand, without imaging, biopsy is blind and misses and underestimates cancer in at least 20 percent of men, leading to unacceptable rates of treatment failures. Unnecessary or failed treatment, often leaves men impotent, incontinent or both.
While current statistics are grim, Congressional leadership, which was critical for the advancement of breast cancer imaging, offers a new hope for every man who faces a battle with prostate cancer.
For more information on prostate imaging, please visit admetech.org.
AdMeTech Foundation is a non-profit organization that identifies, funds and administers research and development projects conducted at leading academic and industrial institutions to expedite the advancement of technologies that can improve the diagnosis and treatment of life-threatening and widespread diseases.
AdMeTech is dedicated to the creation of advanced diagnostic tools for prostate cancer and through strategic partnerships with academia, advocacy and industry groups, as well as government agencies, works to facilitate and support the development of these diagnostics.
SOURCE AdMeTech Foundation
