Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Treatments
Summary
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) poses a significant global health burden, with rising incidence and substantial mortality. Therapeutic options range from local interventions—such as surgical resection, radiofrequency ablation and transarterial chemoembolisation—to systemic agents, including multikinase inhibitors, immunotherapies and combination regimens. Cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) has emerged as an essential tool to compare these strategies by integrating clinical outcomes and economic considerations. Typically, decision-analytic models—Markov state models, partitioned survival models and network meta-analyses—estimate life-years (LYs), quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs). By applying willingness-to-pay thresholds that reflect national or regional healthcare budgets, CEAs inform reimbursement decisions, guideline development and price negotiations. Variability in model inputs, such as utility weights, drug acquisition costs and healthcare resource use, underscores the need for context-specific analyses. As immuno-targeted combinations and locoregional therapies reshape the HCC landscape, robust economic evaluations are crucial for optimising resource allocation and ensuring equitable access to effective care.
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Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Treatments publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in cost-effectiveness analysis of hepatocellular carcinoma treatments across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Quality-adjusted life-year (QALY): A measure combining survival duration with health-related quality of life, where one QALY equates to one year in perfect health.
Incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER): The additional cost per additional unit of health benefit (usually per QALY gained) when comparing two interventions.
Willingness-to-pay (WTP) threshold: A monetary benchmark representing the maximum amount a health system or society is prepared to pay for one additional QALY.
Markov model: A decision-analytic framework that simulates patient transitions between defined health states over time to estimate costs and outcomes.
Network meta-analysis: A statistical method that integrates direct and indirect comparisons of multiple interventions to estimate relative efficacy and safety across a network of trials.
References
- Immunotherapy or targeted therapy as the first-line strategies for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma: A network meta-analysis and cost-effectiveness analysis. Frontiers in Immunology (2023).
- Sintilimab Plus Bevacizumab Biosimilar Versus Sorafenib as First-Line Treatment for Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis. Frontiers in Pharmacology (2022).
- Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Five Systemic Treatments for Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma in China: An Economic Evaluation Based on Network Meta-Analysis. Frontiers in Public Health (2022).
- Cost-effectiveness analysis of transarterial chemoembolization combined with lenvatinib as the first-line treatment for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. Frontiers in Pharmacology (2023).
- Real-World Treatment Patterns, Clinical Outcomes, Healthcare Resource Utilization, and Costs in Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Ontario, Canada. Cancers (2024).
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