title: Could we measure the efficiency of prostate cancer treatment? A critical appraisal of economic evaluation studies.
abstract: The objective of this paper is to introduce the methodology of economic analysis in health care, and its application to the measurement of the efficiency analysis of prostate cancer treatment. We presented the methodology of economic analysis. To review its application in prostate cancer treatment, we performed a bibliographic search in the main biomedical databases (February 1988-January 2001) to identify economic evaluation studies that compared both costs and effects of prostate cancer treatments. The lack of economic studies for localized prostate cancer and the diversity of treatments for advanced prostate cancer make it difficult to make comparisons across studies and to make therapeutic recommendations.Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases (2001) 4, 217-220.
authors.affiliation: Catalan Agency for Health Technology Assessment and Research, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: García-Altés
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Jovell