Economic evaluations of follow-up strategies for cancer survivors: a systematic review and quality appraisal of the literature.
Meregaglia, Michela;
Cairns, John;
(2015)
Economic evaluations of follow-up strategies for cancer survivors: a systematic review and quality appraisal of the literature.
Expert review of pharmacoeconomics & outcomes research, 15 (6).
pp. 913-929.
ISSN 1473-7167
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1586/14737167.2015.1087316
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The aim of this study was to review and critically assess the health economics literature on post-treatment follow-up for adult cancer survivors. A systematic search was performed using PubMed, EMBASE and the Cochrane Library. The Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards checklist was adopted to assess the quality of the included studies. Thirty-nine articles met the eligibility criteria. Around two thirds of the studies addressed the most common cancers (i.e., breast, colorectal, cervical and lung); 21 were based on a single clinical study, while the rest were modeling papers. All types of economic evaluations were represented other than cost-benefit analysis. The overall quality was generally high with an average proportion of 74% of checklist criteria fulfilled. The cost-effectiveness results supported the current trend towards less intensive, primary care-based and risk-adapted follow-up schemes.