VA suspends prostate cancer treatment programs at four hospitals
Nuclear Regulatory Commission is examining radiation dosing problems.
After a months-long inquiry into why dozens of prostate cancer treatment patients at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Philadelphia received lower-than-prescribed radiation doses, VA has suspended similar treatment programs at three other hospitals.
The three additional VA hospitals to suspend brachytherapy programs, in which radioactive seeds are implanted into the prostate, are in Cincinnati; Jackson, Miss.; and Washington. Those hospitals were found to have similar problems as those in Philadelphia, where the treatment program was suspended this summer.
News of the suspensions came from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which has launched a special inspection of VA's radiation treatment program. VA spokeswoman Laurie Tranter said she could not say when the programs were suspended, how patients were notified, or why the problems might have occurred.
The agency planned to put out a press release late Wednesday or Thursday, she said. Until then she said she was not permitted to provide any details about the decision.
On Wednesday, NRC sent a letter to the Veterans Affairs National Health Physics Program documenting commitments made by VA to identify and address problems that have led to the medical errors and prevent their recurrence.
NRC will oversee VA operations to ensure the agency follows through on commitments to:
- Conduct inspections at all 13 hospitals authorized to perform prostate cancer treatment.
- Develop and implement standardized treatment procedures.
- Identify causes of medical events and implement corrective actions.
- Suspend any treatment program where 20 percent or more treatments have been identified as medical events.
- Conduct an inspection to confirm all necessary corrective actions have been taken prior to restarting any treatment program.
- Notify NRC of plans to restart programs.
- Conduct an inspection of new prostate cancer treatment programs to confirm they meet enhanced standards.
Problems with the agency's prostate cancer treatment program first came to NRC's attention last May when VA's National Health Physics Program notified the regulatory body that a radiation dose delivered to a patient at the Philadelphia facility was less than 80 percent of what had been prescribed. The National Health Physics Program provides regulatory oversight for all radiation programs throughout the Veterans Affairs medical system.
A VA investigation subsequently found that 55 out of 112 prostate cancer treatment patients at the facility were underdosed between February 2002 and June 2008. Those findings triggered a special inspection by NRC.
The commission's investigation involves conducting independent inspections at several VA hospitals and evaluating the National Health Physics Program's response to the medical events.
NRC also has hired an independent medical consultant to examine possible health effects to patients.
Other VA hospitals that have prostate cancer treatment programs are located in Albany, N.Y.; Boston; Brooklyn, N.Y.; Durham, N.C.; Los Angeles; Minneapolis, Minn.; Richmond, Va.; San Francisco; and Seattle.