Boston Scientific Corp.’s GreenLight XPS laser therapy system, used for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) prostatic enlargement, received positive guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), which provides evidenced-based guidance, advice and standards for the National Health Service (NHS) in the U.K..
In its evaluation, NICE concluded that the adoption of the GreenLight XPS system to treat non high-risk patients with BPH can significantly reduce costs. The health institute estimates that broad adoption of the laser system over the current traditional surgical treatment, transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP), could result in savings of around £2.3 million ($3.3 million) and possibly up to £3.2 million ($4.5 million) annually for the NHS as the GreenLight XPS therapy is typically done on an outpatient day-case basis.
The British Association for Day Case Surgery has recommended that within the next five years, more than 90 percent of urological surgery should be done as day-case procedures.
The NICE evaluation team examined information submitted by the company along with independently sourced clinical studies including the GOLIATH study, a randomized 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.
More than 110 million men worldwide are diagnosed with BPH, an enlargement of the prostate that occurs naturally with age and is one of the most common diseases among aging men. It affects 50 percent of men between the ages of 51 and 60 and 90 percent of men over the age of 80. BPH 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 BPH including medication, surgery and laser therapy.