title: Subgroup Economic Evaluation of Radiotherapy for Breast Cancer After Mastectomy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A recent meta-analysis by the Early Breast Cancer Trialists' Collaborative Group found significant improvements achieved by postmastectomy radiotherapy (PMRT) for patients with breast cancer with 1 to 3 positive nodes (pN1-3). It is unclear whether PMRT is cost-effective for subgroups of patients with positive nodes.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine the cost-effectiveness of PMRT for subgroups of patients with breast cancer with positive nodes.
  
  
  METHODS
  A semi-Markov model was constructed to estimate the expected lifetime costs, life expectancy, and quality-adjusted life-years for patients receiving or not receiving radiation therapy. Clinical and health utilities data were from meta-analyses by the Early Breast Cancer Trialists' Collaborative Group or randomized clinical trials. Costs were estimated from the perspective of the Chinese society. One-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The incremental cost-effective ratio was estimated as $7984, $4043, $3572, and $19,021 per quality-adjusted life-year for patients with positive nodes (pN+), patients with pN1-3, patients with pN1-3 who received systemic therapy, and patients with >4 positive nodes (pN4+), respectively. According to World Health Organization recommendations, these incremental cost-effective ratios were judged as cost-effective. However, the results of one-way sensitivity analyses suggested that the results were highly sensitive to the relative effectiveness of PMRT (rate ratio).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We determined that the results were highly sensitive to the rate ratio. However, the addition of PMRT for patients with pN1-3 in China has a reasonable chance to be cost-effective and may be judged as an efficient deployment of limited health resource, and the risk and uncertainty of PMRT are relatively greater for patients with pN4+.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
authors.forename: Xiaomin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wan
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
authors.forename: Liubao
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
authors.forename: Jinan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Department of Breast and Thyroid Surgery, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
authors.forename: Gannong
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: College of Pharmacy, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China. Electronic address: yuan_jianli@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Yuanjian
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000191:economics / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000601:surgery; D002681:China; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008408:Mastectomy / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D019057:Quality-Adjusted Life Years; D012306:Risk
keywords: breast cancer; cost-effectiveness; markov model; mastectomy; radiotherapy