title: The cost-effectiveness issue of adjuvant trastuzumab in early breast cancer.
abstract: Trastuzumab has shown activity in patients with early breast cancer that overexpresses HER-2, and this drug has been employed in the adjuvant setting. Significant resources have been allocated to finance this new therapy. To support decision makers in their allocation of resources, cost-effectiveness models are constructed to compare the costs and outcomes of anticancer therapy. This survey focuses on studies exploring adjuvant trastuzumab therapy in early-stage breast cancer that have been published since 2003, which report on efficacy, benefit and/or cost data in this setting. The paper summarises the results, focuses on the level of evidence of these studies, compares the calculated cost-effectiveness ratios and makes recommendations for future cost-effectiveness analyses.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, PO Box 13, University Hospital of North Norway, N-9038 Tromsø, Norway. jannorum@fagmed.uit.no
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Norum
mesh_terms: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000191:economics* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D061067:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000191:economics* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000191:economics* / Q000401:mortality; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant / Q000191:economics; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003661:Decision Support Techniques; D005260:Female; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006801:Humans; D018803:Models, Economic; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D016019:Survival Analysis; D000068878:Trastuzumab
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D061067:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D000068878:Trastuzumab