A radiation therapy known as I.M.R.T for prostate cancer may be emerging as yet another example of the way financial incentives can influence medical decisions. Among several widely used treatments for prostate cancer, I.M.R.T. stands out for the money it makes the doctors who recommend it - $47,000 or more a patient.

That is many times the fees that urologists make on other accepted treatments for the disease, which include surgery and radioactive seed implants. And it may help explain why urologists have started buying multimillion-dollar I.M.R.T. equipment and software, and why many more are investigating it as a way to increase their incomes.

Helping drive the trend is a Texas company, Urorad Healthcare, which sells complete packages of I.M.R.T. technology and services, and hopes to persuade even more urologists to buy them. “Join the Urorad team and let us show your group how Urorad clients double their practice’s revenue,” the company says in a marketing pitch to doctors on its Web site.

Urologists who have purchased the new multiple beam systems say they are embracing a superior way to treat prostate cancer. But because there is little research directly comparing I.M.R.T. with the other treatments, there is little consensus among urologists about which approach is best.

If the patient has insurance, the added expense may not be a concern for him. And like the other treatments, the new therapy can be highly effective. But doctors say that prostate cancer treatments should be tailored to the individual.

See full New York Times Story - "Profit and Questions on Prostate Cancer Therapy"