Is it ethical to still prescribe conventionally-fractionated treatments for breast cancer, prostate cancer, and osseous metastatic disease for patients that do not have contraindications to hypofractionation?
Wow - one of the most interesting questions on the platform.
Zooming out: what’s the motivation behind asking this?
Is it agenda-driven? An attempt to “finger wag”?
Or confusion around why the zeitgeist hints that 1.8 Gy fractions are “unethical”?
"Ethical" needs a contextual definition here.
In genera...
You're going to have a hard time getting physicians to call other physician's practice "unethical"... but I'll put myself out there, with a little note at the end.
I will also start by saying "unethical" in this case is referring to "the option providing higher remuneration" NOT that they are provid...
Ethical would be to look at the cost of a treatment vs toxicity to both the system and the patient.
Unlike breast hypofractionation which, in fact, has had better toxicity outcomes along with increased convenience, prostate hypo has only decreased cost at the expense of increased acute toxicity, th...
Firstly, I think our ethical opinions for the most part are just that - our opinions, not "facts". As such, I also believe that someone in good faith can hold the opposite opinion that I do and have both of us be good people who are trying to do our best for our patients.
That being said... I'd say ...