OBJECTIVES: The analysis of published survival curves can be used as the basis for conducting cost-effectiveness analyses in which two treatments are compared in terms of cost per life year saved. In patients with metastatic breast cancer, high-dose chemotherapy (HDC) with autologous bone marrow transplantation (ABMT) has been reported to improve survival in comparison with control patients who receive standard chemotherapy. METHODS: An incremental cost-effectiveness analysis was undertaken in which the Gompertz model was used to determine a lifetime estimate of patient-years gained by subjects given HDC with hematopoietic rescue in comparison with controls. Our study utilised the clinical data reported in a published clinical trial. This randomised clinical trial involved 45 patients subjected to HDC with ABMT and 45 controls given chemotherapy. RESULTS: Lifetime survival advantage for patients of HDC with ABMT group was estimated as 72.5 discounted patient-years for every 100 patients. The use of HDC with ABMT, as opposed to standard chemotherapy, was found to imply an incremental cost of about $55,000 per discounted life year gained. CONCLUSIONS: The cost-effectiveness ratio of high-dose chemotherapy with autologous bone marrow transplantation in patients with metastatic breast cancer is borderline if one considers that acceptable figures of cost per life year gained are generally below $50,000.