OBJECTIVES

The objective of study is to review the economic evidence of stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) in treatment of early stage of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

METHODS

A systematic literature review was conducted to identify cost-effectiveness as well as cost-utility studies. Medline, Embase, EconLit and NHS Economic Evaluation Database (NHSEED) were searched from 2000 through April 2018 (including update) for full-text publications. The quality of the studies was assessed via the validated Quality of Health Economic Studies (QHES) instrument.

RESULTS

A total of 8 studies with good quality were included. Markov models were frequently used in cost-effectiveness and cost-utility evaluations. The model inputs were well reported and commonly consisted of data from clinical trials. Sensitivity analyses were conducted in the majority of studies and covered variables such as cost, effectiveness and survival days. SBRT was for the most part cost-effective/cost-saving compared with the conventional radiotherapy, particle therapy(protons, carbon-ions) and radiofrequency ablation. However, the economic evidence of SBRT in comparison with surgery remains to be further explored.

CONCLUSIONS

SBRT is likely to be cost-effective management strategy across a large variety of treatment sites and techniques. However, rigorous model validation techniques are lacking in these modeling studies. Prospective randomized studies are necessary to strengthen confidence in these results.