Cost-effectiveness analysis of strategies introducing integrated ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT into the mediastinal lymph node staging of non-small-cell lung cancer

Impact of preoperative [18F]FDG PET/CT vs. contrast-enhanced CT in the staging and survival of patients with clinical stage I and II non-small cell lung cancer: a 10-year follow-up study

OBJECTIVES

To elucidate the impact of [18F]FDG positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) vs. CT workup on staging and prognostic evaluation of clinical stage (c) I-II NSCLC.

METHODS

We retrospectively identified 659 cI-II NSCLC who underwent CT (267 patients) or preoperative CT followed by PET/CT (392 patients), followed by curative-intended complete resection in our hospital from January 2008 to December 2013. Differences were assessed between preoperative and postoperative stage. Five-year disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) rates were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier approach and compared with log-rank test. Impact of preoperative PET/CT on survival was assessed by Cox regression analysis.

RESULTS

The study included 659 patients [mean age, 59.5 years ± 10.8 (standard deviation); 379 men]. The PET/CT group was superior over CT group in DFS [12.6 vs. 6.9 years, HR 0.67 (95% CI 0.53-0.84), p < 0.001] and OS [13.9 vs. 10.5 years, HR 0.64 (95% CI 0.50-0.81), p < 0.001]. In CT group, more patients thought to have cN0 migrated to pN1/2 disease as compared with PET/CT group [26.4% (66/250) vs. 19.2% (67/349), p < 0.001], resulting in more stage cI cases being upstaged to pII-IV [24.7% (49/198) vs. 16.1% (47/292), p = 0.02], yet this was not found in cII NSCLC [27.5% (19/69) vs. 27.0% (27/100), p = 0.94]. Cox regression analysis identified preoperative PET/CT as an independent prognostic factor of OS and DFS (p = 0.002, HR = 0.69, 95% CI 0.54-0.88; p = 0.004, HR = 0.72, 95% CI 0.58-0.90).

CONCLUSION

Addition of preoperative [18F]FDG PET/CT was associated with superior DFS and OS in resectable cI-II NSCLC, which may result from accurate staging and stage-appropriate therapy.

Quality of Health Economic Evaluations in Mainland China: A Comparison of Peer-Reviewed Articles in Chinese and in English

OBJECTIVE

Our objective was to assess the incidence and quality of reporting of published health economic evaluations in mainland China and compare the quality of peer-reviewed articles in Chinese and English.

METHODS

A comprehensive search was conducted for economic evaluations pertaining to China published from 2006 to 2015 using the PubMed, CBM, CMCC, CNKI, VIP, and Wanfang databases. All studies in English that met the inclusion criteria were included. For studies in Chinese, 200 sampled studies were included according to the random seeds method, and the same number of the most-cited studies in Chinese as those in English were included according to the number of citations and journal grades. Researchers independently assessed the quality of the studies using the Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards (CHEERS) checklist.

RESULTS

After literature search and screening, a total of 310 studies were identified. The majority of these studies were cost-effectiveness studies (82.26%). Scores among different CHEERS items varied greatly. There was a gap between the average quality scores of the studies published in Chinese and those published in English (49.78 ± 9.31 vs. 82.48 ± 17.69) and between the average quality scores of the included most-cited studies in Chinese and English, which was slightly smaller (54.08 ± 10.27 vs. 82.48 ± 17.69). The methods, results, and discussion sections of studies published in Chinese were of low quality.

CONCLUSION

The quality of reporting of health economic evaluations in mainland China has developed slowly. Most of the included studies were incomplete in the presentation of content, making the results less reliable. It is important to standardize and improve the quality of Chinese health economic research.

Cost-effectiveness analysis of positron-emission tomography-computed tomography in preoperative staging for nonsmall-cell lung cancer with resected monometastatic disease

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study was, from the Chinese healthcare perspective, to assess the cost-effectiveness of positron-emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) with F-fluorodeoxyglucose (F-FDG) in preoperation staging for nonsmall-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with resected monometastatic disease based on a retrospective study. This study was conducted from January 2017 to February 2019 at an academic hospital.

METHODS

A Markov model and 3 decision-tree models were designed to calculate the long-term medical costs, outcomes, and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) of the 2 diagnostic strategies (PET-CT and conventional CT). Model robustness was assessed in sensitivity analyses.

RESULTS

For the base-case analysis, preoperative PET-CT evaluation for NSCLC with resected monometastatic disease provided an additional 1.475, 2.129, and 2.412 life-years (LYs), in the time horizon of 10-, 20-, and 30-year, respectively, and the ICERs for the PET-CT group compared with the conventional CT group were $1153, $1393, and $1430 per LY, separately. The acceptability curves demonstrated that when the willingness-to-pay (WTP) thresholds ranged from $500 to $3000/LY, the probability of cost-effectiveness changed varied dramatically, and at WTP > $3000, the probability that the PET-CT group achieved cost-effectiveness was 100%. Sensitivity analyses suggested that the models we designed were robust.

CONCLUSION

Compared with conventional CT scan, preoperative F-FDG PET-CT evaluation for patients with resected monometastatic NSCLC is cost-effective from the Chinese healthcare perspective. Preoperative F-FDG PET-CT evaluation should be popularized for patients with resected monometastatic NSCLC.

PET-CT in presurgical lymph node staging in non-small cell lung cancer: the importance of false-negative and false-positive findings

OBJECTIVE

To assess the importance of false-negative and false-positive findings in computed tomography (CT) and ¹⁸F-FDG positron emission tomography (PET) in mediastinal lymph node staging in patients undergoing surgery for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

MATERIAL AND METHODS

This retrospective study included 113 consecutive patients and 120 resected NSCLCs; 22 patients received neoadjuvant treatment. We compared the findings on preoperative ¹⁸F-FDG PET-CT studies with the postoperative pathology findings. Lymph node size and primary tumor size were measured with CT, and lymph nodes and primary tumors were evaluated qualitatively and semiquantitatively (using standardized uptake values (SUVmax)) with PET.

RESULTS

Metastatic lymph nodes were found in 26 (21.7%) of the 120 tumors and in 41 (7.7%) of the 528 lymph node stations analyzed. ¹⁸F-FDG PET-CT yielded 53.8% sensitivity, 76.6% specificity, 38.9% positive predictive value, 85.7% negative predictive value, and 71.7% diagnostic accuracy. The false-negative rate was 14.2%. Multivariable analysis found that the factors associated with false-negative findings were a moderate degree of differentiation in the primary tumor (p = 0.005) and an SUVmax of the primary tumor >4 (p = 0.027). The false-positive rate was 61.1%, and the multivariable analysis found that lymph node size >1cm was associated with false-positive findings (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

In mediastinal lymph node staging in patients with NSCLC, ¹⁸F-FDG PET-CT improves the specificity and negative predictive value and helps clinicians to select the patients that will benefit from surgery. Given the high rate of false positives, histological confirmation of positive cases is recommendable.

Prognostic value of early response assessment using 18F-FDG PET/CT in chemotherapy-treated patients with non-small-cell lung cancer

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of early response assessment using a volumetric fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose (F-FDG) PET analysis in chemotherapy-treated patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed 33 patients with NSCLC who received first-line chemotherapy and performed F-FDG PET/computed tomography before (baseline PET) and after two cycles of chemotherapy (interim PET). The maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) and metabolic tumor volume (MTV) of the total malignant lesion were measured in baseline (SUV1 and MTV1) and interim (SUV2 and MTV2) PET images, and percentage changes in SUVmax (ΔSUV) and MTV (ΔMTV) were calculated between the two images. We compared PET parameters and clinicopathologic variables in terms of the 2-year overall survival (OS).

RESULTS

The median follow-up period was 14.3 months and the 2-year OS was 31%. In PET images, the mean SUV1, MTV1, SUV2, MTV2, ΔSUV, and ΔMTV were 13.1±4.5, 307.9±340.0 cm, 9.5±5.1, 180.4±29.6 cm, 27±28%, and 42±65%, respectively. In univariable analysis, M stage, TNM stage, and all six PET parameters associated significantly with OS. Both the MTV1 and the ΔMTV were tested against OS controlling for M stage, one at time, and the effect remained significant in multivariable analyses.

CONCLUSION

A smaller baseline MTV and greater decrease in MTV between baseline and interim PET images are associated with a significantly prolonged OS. A volume-based F-FDG PET analysis would facilitate prediction of clinical outcome and identification of treatment-resistant patients early during chemotherapy and could thus be used in personalized treatment approaches for patients with NSCLC.

Clinical utility of F-18 FDG PET-CT in the initial evaluation of lung cancer

PURPOSE

Positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) is a resource-demanding imaging modality with increasing popularity in the workup of patients with suspected or proven lung cancer.

METHODS

To review the clinical usefulness of this imaging modality in the diagnosis, staging, and pre-operative evaluation, we conducted a systematic literature search, review, and quality assessment using the rapid evidence assessment toolkit and the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine methodology. The literature search resulted in 4,208 records including 918 reviews, of which 139 met the predefined criteria and were read in full to identify relevant original articles on F-18 FDG PET-CT (1) in the evaluation of solitary pulmonary nodules (n = 14), (2) in curative-intent treatment trials (n = 9), and (3) in planning of invasive procedures (n = 18).

RESULTS

We found the following important results from the literature review: 1) PET-CT can rule out malignancy in most solitary pulmonary nodules due to high sensitivity (recommendation level A). 2) PET-CT reduces the number of futile treatment trials (recommendation level A). 3) The sensitivity of PET-CT in general is insufficient to rule out mediastinal lymph node metastasis (recommendation level A).

CONCLUSIONS

ᅟ 1) With few exceptions, solitary pulmonary nodules can safely be considered benign if the PET-CT scan is negative. Exceptions consist of small (<1 cm) and non-solid, solitary pulmonary nodules. These abnormalities should be followed up by CT in a structured programme. 2) No curative-intent treatment should be commenced until a PET-CT scan has excluded occult distant metastases. 3) In general, lymph node metastasis in the mediastinum cannot be ruled out on the basis of a negative PET-CT, and confirmative invasive staging should be performed in most patients before mediastinal metastasis is confirmed or ruled out.