Boston Scientific has announced that its GreenLight XPS laser therapy system, used for the treatment of prostatic enlargement, known as benign prostatic hyperplasia, received positive guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).
NICE provides evidenced-based guidance, advice and standards for the National Health Service (NHS) in England in order to improve outcomes for patients.
In its evaluation, NICE concluded that the adoption of the system to treat non high-risk patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia can significantly reduce costs for the NHS. NICE estimates that broad adoption of the GreenLight XPS Laser System over the current traditional surgical treatment, transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP), could result in savings of around £2.3 million and possibly up to £3.2 million annually for the NHS as the GreenLight XPS System therapy is typically done on an outpatient day-case basis. The British Association for Day Case Surgery (BADS 2013) has recommended that within the next five years, more than 90% of urological surgery should be done as day-case procedures.
“The GreenLight XPS System is a well-established treatment to help men with benign prostatic hyperplasia,” said Gordon Muir, consultant urological surgeon, King’s College Hospital, London, UK. “It is suitable for almost all men, even those who may not be deemed fit for conventional surgery. The positive guidance from NICE will give more men access to the GreenLight XPS System and may allow surgeons to treat patients on an outpatient basis, with excellent outcomes and with fewer complications.”
The NICE evaluation team examined information submitted by the company along with independently sourced clinical studies including the GOLIATH study, a randomised prospective trial of 291 patients conducted in nine European countries that compared the GreenLight XPS System to TURP. This study demonstrated that the laser therapy has fewer initial serious post-procedure complications, with lower hospital re-admissions and outcomes that are equally effective as the current standard surgical treatment.
“Using technology to improve care and lower healthcare costs directly benefits patients, hospitals and providers,” said Michael Phalen, executive vice president and president, MedSurg, Boston Scientific. More than 110 million men worldwide are diagnosed with benign prostatic hyperplasia, an enlargement of the prostate that occurs naturally with age and is one of the most common diseases among aging men. It affects 50% of men between the ages of 51 and 60 and 90% of men over the age of 80. It causes a number of symptoms and, if untreated, can result in infections, renal failure and kidney stones. A variety of treatment options are used to treat the condition including medication, surgery, laser therapy and prostatic artery embolization.
