Quality of Life--the challenges ahead

The economic and social impact of our investigational and therapeutic strategies is attracting increasing attention and, more importantly, is being subjected to formal evaluation. An evaluation of the economic benefits and an assessment of the improvement in the Quality of Life obtained by different strategies of therapeutic intervention are increasingly being included as an essential part of the clinical assessment and benefit both the patient and society. This paper summarizes the most important parameters to be considered in the evaluation of future treatment strategies.