Stereotactic ablative body radiation (SABR) appears to be a cost-effective treatment option for patients with metastatic liver cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma, suggests an economic analysis published online in Clinical Oncology (2020. S0936-6555(20)30359-9. doi:10.1016/j.clon.2020.08.010).
The study assessed SABR compared with surgery and radiofrequency ablation (RFA) in 2 patient cohorts: liver oligometastases and hepatocellular carcinoma. Researchers assessed the cost-effectiveness of the interventions over a 5-year horizon.
In both patient cohorts, SABR was the most cost-effective intervention, assuming each intervention was associated with the same cancer progression rates and mortality rates, according to the study. At a willingness-to-pay threshold of £20,000 per quality-adjusted life year, the probability of cost-effectiveness of SABR was 57% for patients with liver oligometastases and 50% and for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.
However, for patients who would achieve better control of cancer progression or additional survival benefits with surgery or RFA, those interventions would be more cost-effective than SABR, researchers noted.
“Our results indicate a potential for SABR to be cost-effective for patients with liver oligometastases and hepatocellular carcinoma,” the study found. “This finding supports further investigation in clinical trials directly comparing SABR with surgery and radiofrequency ablation.”—Jolynn Tumolo
