Economic evaluation of targeted cancer interventions: critical review and recommendations

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Health Economics
• Biostatistics

Background:

• Scientific advances enable personalized cancer interventions, targeting treatments to specific patient subgroups.
• Approaches include risk prediction, tumor markers, and genetic mutation tests for risk reduction, screening, and treatment.
• Economic evaluations are crucial for assessing the cost-effectiveness of targeted versus traditional cancer strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To highlight the importance of explicitly considering the method of targeting in economic evaluations of cancer interventions.
• To review published cost-effectiveness analyses of targeted interventions in breast cancer.
• To emphasize the link between targeting methods, test accuracy, and intervention outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review of published cost-effectiveness analyses of targeted interventions in breast cancer.
• Analysis of studies that explicitly evaluated the relationship between targeting methods, test accuracy, and intervention outcomes.
• Identification of key factors influencing the cost-effectiveness of targeted cancer therapies.

Main Results:

• Few studies explicitly assessed the impact of targeting methods and test accuracy on targeted intervention outcomes.
• Studies that did evaluate these relationships found that targeting test characteristics significantly influenced outcomes.
• The accuracy and nature of the targeting method demonstrably affect the overall effectiveness and cost-efficiency of cancer interventions.

Conclusions:

• The method of targeting is intrinsically linked to the outcomes of targeted cancer interventions.
• Cost-effectiveness analyses must comprehensively include the costs and outcomes associated with the targeting method.
• Accurate and appropriate targeting strategies are essential for maximizing the benefits and minimizing the costs of personalized cancer care.