Exaggeration and omission in press releases from proton therapy centers

Health care consumers receive information regarding medical technologies from a variety of sources, including television, newspapers, and the internet, based on information originating from press releases released by medical centers. Press releases are commonly used by medical centers to publicize the arrival of an innovative, expensive technology, such as proton beam therapy. The primary goal of press releases is to attract positive attention to medical centers, helping to attract patients. Furthermore, they may circulate unchanged in the media, extending their influence. We hypothesized that press releases from proton therapy centers may be inaccurate and biased, attempting to sell proton therapy to the public, rather than provide a balanced perspective regarding this new, incompletely tested therapy. Results: Press releases from proton therapy centers (n=22) were analyzed for tone, sources of quotations, portrayal of costs, and reference to results from clinical research. Nineteen of 22 press releases described proton therapy as clinically superior to conventional radiation. Seventy-two of 73 quotations were from stakeholders associated with the proton therapy center. Few releases explained that long-term studies of proton therapy had not yet been conducted. While the costs of building proton therapy centers were usually mentioned, the cost per patient was omitted. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that press releases commonly provide a biased perspective on this expensive technology, not yet validated in randomized trials. We are concerned that many readers, including cancer patients, may conclude that proton therapy is clinically superior to conventional radiation therapy, creating artificial demand. This may result in increased costs and greater numbers of for-profit centers.