| Abstract | A structured review of studies on the health-economic evaluation of systemic adjuvant therapy for early-stage breast cancer was carried out. Of the eight articles that have been identified four were related to the cost-effectiveness of chemotherapy, three compared chemotherapy with combined chemotherapy and hormonal therapy and one compared tamoxifen (TAM) with third-generation aromatase inhibitors (ATIs). Results of the review indicate that the cost-utility of adjuvant breast cancer therapy is within the range of other oncological interventions. Adjuvant chemotherapy is most cost-effective in pre-menopausal women with node-positive breast cancer while cost-effectiveness decreases considerably with increasing age. Endocrine therapy with TAM is most cost-effective in ER-positive tumours with no significant age effect. The cost-utility of using the ATI anastrozole instead of TAM in adjuvant therapy cannot be conclusively assessed on the basis of the existing evidence. |
| Authors | Reinhold Kilian, Franz Porzsolt
(Affiliation: University of Ulm, Department of Psychiatry II, BKH Günzburg, Günzburg, Germany.)
|
| Journal | Breast (Edinburgh, Scotland)
(Breast)
Vol. 14
Issue 6
Pg. 636-42
(Dec 2005)
ISSN: 0960-9776 Scotland |
| PMID | 16183288
(Publication Type: Journal Article, Review)
|
| Chemical References |
- Aromatase Inhibitors
- Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators
- Tamoxifen
|
| Topics |
- Aromatase Inhibitors
(economics)
- Breast Neoplasms
(drug therapy, pathology)
- Chemotherapy, Adjuvant
(economics)
- Cost-Benefit Analysis
- Europe
- Female
- Humans
- Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators
(economics)
- Tamoxifen
(economics)
- United States
|
