Cost-benefit analysis of percutaneous interventional radiological procedures in cancer patients

The goal of this work was to evaluate the costs and benefits of percutaneous interventional radiological procedures (PIRP) in terminal cancer patients, from the perspective of the Radiodiagnostics Department. The subjects were 225 patients who underwent different kinds of treatments, such as placement of endovenous or urinary stents, percutaneous gastrostomy, alcoholization of metastatic disease, celiac plexus block, tumor embolization, and inferior vena caval filter. We retrospectively analyzed the consequences in terms of survival, quality of life and cost ratios and found that this study fully justifies the use of interventional radiology in palliative oncology: 60% and 40% of the patients, respectively, were still alive at 1 month and 3 months; the additional cost of PIRP procedures is low (< 12%) compared with the total cost of hospitalization.