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Mühlberger N, Sroczynski G, Gogollari A, Jahn B, Pashayan N, Steyerberg E, Widschwendter M, Siebert U. Cost effectiveness of breast cancer screening and prevention: a systematic review with a focus on risk-adapted strategies. THE EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF HEALTH ECONOMICS : HEPAC : HEALTH ECONOMICS IN PREVENTION AND CARE 2021; 22:1311-1344. [PMID: 34342797 DOI: 10.1007/s10198-021-01338-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2020] [Accepted: 06/10/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Benefit and cost effectiveness of breast cancer screening are still matters of controversy. Risk-adapted strategies are proposed to improve its benefit-harm and cost-benefit relations. Our objective was to perform a systematic review on economic breast cancer models evaluating primary and secondary prevention strategies in the European health care setting, with specific focus on model results, model characteristics, and risk-adapted strategies. METHODS Literature databases were systematically searched for economic breast cancer models evaluating the cost effectiveness of breast cancer screening and prevention strategies in the European health care context. Characteristics, methodological details and results of the identified studies are reported in evidence tables. Economic model outputs are standardized to achieve comparable cost-effectiveness ratios. RESULTS Thirty-two economic evaluations of breast cancer screening and seven evaluations of primary breast cancer prevention were included. Five screening studies and none of the prevention studies considered risk-adapted strategies. Studies differed in methodologic features. Only about half of the screening studies modeled overdiagnosis-related harms, most often indirectly and without reporting their magnitude. All models predict gains in life expectancy and/or quality-adjusted life expectancy at acceptable costs. However, risk-adapted screening was shown to be more effective and efficient than conventional screening. CONCLUSIONS Economic models suggest that breast cancer screening and prevention are cost effective in the European setting. All screening models predict gains in life expectancy, which has not yet been confirmed by trials. European models evaluating risk-adapted screening strategies are rare, but suggest that risk-adapted screening is more effective and efficient than conventional screening.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nikolai Mühlberger
- Institute of Public Health, Medical Decision Making and Health Technology Assessment, Department of Public Health, Health Services Research and Health Technology Assessment, UMIT-University for Health Sciences, Medical Informatics and Technology, Eduard-Wallnoefer-Zentrum I, 6060, Hall i.T, Austria
| | - Gaby Sroczynski
- Institute of Public Health, Medical Decision Making and Health Technology Assessment, Department of Public Health, Health Services Research and Health Technology Assessment, UMIT-University for Health Sciences, Medical Informatics and Technology, Eduard-Wallnoefer-Zentrum I, 6060, Hall i.T, Austria
| | - Artemisa Gogollari
- Institute of Public Health, Medical Decision Making and Health Technology Assessment, Department of Public Health, Health Services Research and Health Technology Assessment, UMIT-University for Health Sciences, Medical Informatics and Technology, Eduard-Wallnoefer-Zentrum I, 6060, Hall i.T, Austria
| | - Beate Jahn
- Institute of Public Health, Medical Decision Making and Health Technology Assessment, Department of Public Health, Health Services Research and Health Technology Assessment, UMIT-University for Health Sciences, Medical Informatics and Technology, Eduard-Wallnoefer-Zentrum I, 6060, Hall i.T, Austria
| | - Nora Pashayan
- Institute of Epidemiology and Healthcare, Department of Applied Health Research, UCL-University College London, 1-19 Torrington Place, London, WC1E 7HB, UK
| | - Ewout Steyerberg
- Department of Public Health, Erasmus MC, PO Box 9600, 3000 CA, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Biomedical Data Sciences, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Martin Widschwendter
- Department of Women's Cancer, EGA Institute for Women's Health, UCL - University College London, 74 Huntley St, Rm 340, London, WC1E 6AU, UK
| | - Uwe Siebert
- Institute of Public Health, Medical Decision Making and Health Technology Assessment, Department of Public Health, Health Services Research and Health Technology Assessment, UMIT-University for Health Sciences, Medical Informatics and Technology, Eduard-Wallnoefer-Zentrum I, 6060, Hall i.T, Austria.
- Division of Health Technology Assessment and Bioinformatics, ONCOTYROL - Center for Personalized Cancer Medicine, Innsbruck, Austria.
- Department of Health Policy and Management, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Center for Health Decision Science, Boston, MA, USA.
- Harvard Medical School, Institute for Technology Assessment and Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
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Schiller-Frühwirth IC, Jahn B, Arvandi M, Siebert U. Cost-Effectiveness Models in Breast Cancer Screening in the General Population: A Systematic Review. APPLIED HEALTH ECONOMICS AND HEALTH POLICY 2017; 15:333-351. [PMID: 28185134 DOI: 10.1007/s40258-017-0312-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Many Western countries have long-established population-based mammography screening programs. Prior to implementing these programs, decision-analytic modeling was widely used to inform decisions. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to perform a systematic review of cost-effectiveness models in breast cancer screening in the general population to analyze their structural and methodological approaches. METHODS A systematic literature search for health economic models was performed in the electronic databases MEDLINE (Ovid), EMBASE, CRD Databases, Cochrane Library, and EconLit in August 2011 with updates in June 2013, April 2015, and November 2016. To assess studies systematically, a standardized form was applied to extract relevant information that was then summarized in evidence tables. RESULTS Thirty-five studies were included; 27 state-transition models were analyzed using cohort (n = 12) and individual-level simulation (n = 15). Twenty-one studies modeled the natural history of breast cancer and predicted mortality as a function of the early detection modality. The models employed different assumptions regarding ductal carcinoma in situ. Thirteen studies performed cost-utility analyses with different sources for utility values, but assumptions were often made about utility weights. Twenty-two models did not report any validation. CONCLUSION State-transition modeling was the most frequently applied analytic approach. Different methods in modeling the progression of ductal carcinoma in situ to invasive cancer were identified because there is currently no agreement on the biological behavior of noninvasive breast cancer. Main weaknesses were the lack of precise utility estimates and insufficient reporting of validation. Sensitivity analyses of assumptions regarding ductal carcinoma in situ and in particular adequate validation are critical to minimize the risk of biased model outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irmgard C Schiller-Frühwirth
- Department of Evidence-Based Economic Health Care, Main Association of Austrian Social Security Institutions, Kundmanngasse 21, 1030, Vienna, Austria.
- Department of Public Health, Health Services Research and Health Technology Assessment, University for Health Sciences, Medical Informatics and Technology, Hall in Tirol, Austria.
| | - Beate Jahn
- Department of Public Health, Health Services Research and Health Technology Assessment, University for Health Sciences, Medical Informatics and Technology, Hall in Tirol, Austria
- Division of Health Technology Assessment and Bioinformatics, ONCOTYROL-Center for Personalized Cancer Medicine, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Marjan Arvandi
- Department of Public Health, Health Services Research and Health Technology Assessment, University for Health Sciences, Medical Informatics and Technology, Hall in Tirol, Austria
| | - Uwe Siebert
- Department of Public Health, Health Services Research and Health Technology Assessment, University for Health Sciences, Medical Informatics and Technology, Hall in Tirol, Austria
- Division of Health Technology Assessment and Bioinformatics, ONCOTYROL-Center for Personalized Cancer Medicine, Innsbruck, Austria
- Department of Radiology, Institute for Technology Assessment, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Health Policy and Management, Center for Health Decision Science, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
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Rojnik K, Naversnik K, Mateović-Rojnik T, Primiczakelj M. Probabilistic cost-effectiveness modeling of different breast cancer screening policies in Slovenia. VALUE IN HEALTH : THE JOURNAL OF THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR PHARMACOECONOMICS AND OUTCOMES RESEARCH 2008; 11:139-148. [PMID: 18380626 DOI: 10.1111/j.1524-4733.2007.00223.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To determine the most cost-effective screening policy for population-based mammography breast cancer screening in Slovenia using probabilistic sensitivity analysis. METHODS A time-dependent Markov model for breast cancer was constructed. General principles of cost-effectiveness analysis with multiple strategies were used to compare the costs and effects of 36 different screening policies. Using probability distributions for model parameters, the true effect of uncertainty across model input parameters on expected costs and effects was explored. The results from probabilistic simulation analysis are presented in a form of cost-effectiveness acceptability curves with cost-effectiveness acceptability frontier. RESULTS With the presented analysis, it was shown that a 1-year screening interval in population breast cancer screening would produce less benefits at higher costs than less intensive screening and that a 2-year interval would be cost-effective only at high values of society's willingness to pay per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY). Therefore, the optimal screening policy should be chosen among 3-year-interval policies. CONCLUSIONS Based on commonly quoted thresholds of society's willingness to pay per QALY of $50,000, the optimal approach in the Slovenian population would be screening women aged from 40 to 80 years every 3 years.
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Affiliation(s)
- Klemen Rojnik
- Roche d.o.o. farmacevtska druZba, Vodovodna, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
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Neeser K, Szucs T, Bulliard JL, Bachmann G, Schramm W. Cost-effectiveness analysis of a quality-controlled mammography screening program from the Swiss statutory health-care perspective: quantitative assessment of the most influential factors. VALUE IN HEALTH : THE JOURNAL OF THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR PHARMACOECONOMICS AND OUTCOMES RESEARCH 2007; 10:42-53. [PMID: 17261115 DOI: 10.1111/j.1524-4733.2006.00143.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Quality-controlled mammography screening programs (MSP) have led to a reduction in breast cancer mortality. The purpose of this economic analysis was to assess the cost-effectiveness of MSP compared with an established opportunistic screening strategy (OS) in Switzerland, to identify the major factors influencing the economic outcome. METHODS Using cancer registries and clinical data, a Markov-based decision model was designed to compare MSP with OS in the Swiss female population, considering the main screening-specific performance parameters. RESULTS The discounted incremental life expectancy amounted to 0.022 life-years gained in favor of MSP when screening started at age 40 years and decreased to 0.008 years at the age of 70 years (number needed to screen to avoid one death over 10 years ranged from 10,000 to 2439 women depending on the baseline age). The total discounted life-time cost for screening, treatment at the baseline age of 40 years amounted in MSP to $4366 (OS: $2802) and decreased with the baseline age of 70 years to $2412 (OS: $1446). The discounted incremental cost-effectiveness ratio comparing MSP versus OS ranged from $73,018 (age 40 years) to $118,193 (age 70 years) per life-year gained. Testing all model variables confirmed that both incidence and mortality of breast cancer play the most important role in the health economic outcome, whereas cost and performances (sensitivity, specificity) of screening had a minor impact on the efficiency. CONCLUSION This analysis, performed under conservative assumptions, supports that MSP in Switzerland enables a relevant reduction of breast cancer mortality, at moderate additional cost, compared with OS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kurt Neeser
- Swiss Institute for Medical Decision Support (SIMEDES), Muttenz, Switzerland.
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Chirikos TN, Christman LK, Hunter S, Roetzheim RG. Cost-effectiveness of an intervention to increase cancer screening in primary care settings. Prev Med 2004; 39:230-8. [PMID: 15226030 DOI: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2004.03.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The main goal was to conduct a cost-effectiveness analysis of an intervention designed to increase cancer screening rates in primary care settings serving disadvantaged populations. The Cancer Screening Office Systems intervention reminded clinicians whether screening mammography, Pap smears, and/or fecal occult blood tests were up-to-date in eligible patients and then established a division of office responsibilities to ensure that tests were ordered and completed. METHODS The cost-effectiveness analysis was predicated on data generated from a cluster-randomized controlled trial of Cancer Screening Office Systems conducted at eight clinics participating in a county-funded health insurance plan in Florida. Cost numerators were computed from estimated time inputs of both clinical personnel and patients valued at nationally representative wages as well as expenses for Cancer Screening Office Systems-related materials and overhead. Effectiveness denominators were constructed from net changes in screening rates observed experimentally over a 12-month follow-up. Two types of incremental cost-effectiveness ratios were computed: the cost per extra screening test by type and the cost per life-year saved without and with Cancer Screening Office Systems. RESULTS Cancer Screening Office Systems produced statistically significant increases in screening rates, and these gains more than outweighed the costs of the intervention viewed from either payer or societal perspectives. CONCLUSIONS Cancer Screening Office Systems are a cost-effective means of addressing cancer-related health disparities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas N Chirikos
- H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, University of South Florida, Cancer Prevention and Control, Tampa, FL 33612, USA.
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