Managed care implications in castration-resistant prostate cancer.

The management of prostate cancer (PrCa) and especially castration-resistant disease can be complex, challenging, and costly. Significant developments in the field of oncology have led to the further development of safe and effective therapies that are better targeted to particular tumor types and to individual patients. This is evident in castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), where 5 new therapies proved to increase overall survival have debuted in just the past few years. With new therapies, however, come new treatment paradigms and new potential costs. It is vital that managed care clinicians and providers analyze the burden and the costs of cancer in the United States, especially those relating to PrCa and especially CRPC. This will allow a better understanding of how costs and issues relating to healthcare utilization affect the treatment of patients with CRPC, and impact individualized therapy and management decisions.