In a news release, it was stated by U. S. researchers that the type of specialist consulted by patients has an impact on manner of treatment that the infected receives. This study was based on the analysis that observed 85,000 prostate cancer detected Medicare recipients of 65 years or more. Seldom detected in younger men, prostate cancer is one of the major causes of deaths in men of all ages especially the ones who are above 75.

In the experiment, the type of treatment and the specialist were kept a track of. It was found that patients were treated with Radical prostatectomy most commonly were the ones who underwent treatment from urologist alone, while the ones taken care of by both radiation oncologists and the urologists, the most common treatment offered to them was Radiation therapy.

Researchers including Dr. Thomas L. Jang sated, "Our findings provide new insight into the relationship between physician visit patterns and receipt of therapy for localized prostate cancer. The pattern of specialist visits and treatment that we observed suggests that physician preferences may be affecting treatment decisions of Medicare patients".

The authors want the patients to be “well informed” and they want to ensure accessible information that can help specialists decide what kind of treatment should be given to what type of patient.