Cost-effectiveness studies in radiation therapy

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

25 Scopus citations

Abstract

The field of radiation therapy has made dramatic technical advances over the past 20 years. 3D conformal radiotherapy, intensity-modulated radiation therapy and proton beam therapy have all been developed in an attempt to improve the therapeutic ratio: higher cure rates with lower toxicity. Unfortunately, although the costs of radiation therapy are certainly increasing, it is unclear whether its clinical benefit has also improved. Cost-effectiveness analyses are designed to formally evaluate the cost of a treatment relative to an associated change in quality-adjusted survival. As the cost of oncologic care is increasing, it is critically important to assess the cost-effectiveness of radiation therapy. This article will describe the issues surrounding the delivery and cost of radiation therapy, and it will summarize the work that has been done to evaluate the use of cost-effectiveness in radiation oncology.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)567-582
Number of pages16
JournalExpert Review of Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research
Volume10
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2010

Keywords

  • cancer
  • cost-effectiveness analysis
  • decision analysis
  • health services research
  • radiation oncology
  • radiation therapy
  • utilities

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Health Policy
  • Pharmacology (medical)

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