title: Understanding Cost-Effectiveness Analyses: An Explanation Using Three Different Analyses of Lung Cancer Screening.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Cost-effectiveness analyses (CEAs) contribute to informed decision making, at both the practitioner and societal levels; therefore, understanding CEAs is valuable for radiologists. In light of the recently published National Lung Cancer Screening Trial (NLST) CEA, we aim to explain the terminology, methods, and heterogeneity of CEAs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We compared the NLST results to two example lung cancer screening CEAs (which do not rely on NLST data). Both examples assessed screening but reached substantially different conclusions.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, 505 Parnassus Ave, M-391, San Francisco, CA 94143-0628.
authors.forename: Patti K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Curl
authors.affiliation: 2 Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA.
authors.forename: James G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Kahn
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, 505 Parnassus Ave, M-391, San Francisco, CA 94143-0628.
authors.forename: Karen G
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Ordovas
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, 505 Parnassus Ave, M-391, San Francisco, CA 94143-0628.
authors.forename: Brett M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Elicker
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, 505 Parnassus Ave, M-391, San Francisco, CA 94143-0628.
authors.forename: David M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Naeger
mesh_terms: D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000191:economics* / Q000379:methods*; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000191:economics* / Q000379:methods*
keywords: cost-effectiveness analyses (CEAs); low-dose chest CT; lung cancer screening