Sophy Ting-Fang Shih

Economic evaluation of skin cancer prevention in Australia

OBJECTIVES Australia has the highest incidence of skin cancer in the world, despite prevention campaigns being implemented since the early 1980s. This study assesses the cost-effectiveness of a skin cancer prevention program (named SunSmart) since it was introduced, together with its potential cost-effectiveness as an upgraded and ongoing national program. METHODS The reduction in melanoma incidence attributable to SunSmart was modelled as the primary end-point. Historical expenditures on SunSmart were obtained from representative Australian states in three latitude zones. Melanoma incidence rates from these states were used to model key health outcomes. Non-melanoma skin cancer was modelled separately based on national survey results. RESULTS We estimate that SunSmart has averted 28,000 disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), equivalent to 22,000 life-years saved, in the state of Victoria since its introduction in 1988, as well as saving money from cost offset in skin cancer management (dominant). An upgraded national program for the next 20 years is estimated to avert 120,000 DALYs, with associated reductions in the use of health care resources. It remains a dominant intervention in which every dollar invested in SunSmart will return an estimated AU

Cost-effectiveness Analysis of a Two-stage Screening Intervention for Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Taiwan

2.30. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrates that a sustained modest investment in skin cancer control is likely to be an excellent value for money.

Measurement of resource utilisation in cancer clinical studies – tools, issues and challenges

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has been the leading cause of cancer death in Taiwan since the 1980s. A two-stage screening intervention was introduced in 1996 and has been implemented in a limited number of hospitals. The present study assessed the costs and health outcomes associated with the introduction of screening intervention, from the perspective of the Taiwanese government. The cost-effectiveness analysis aimed to assist informed decision making by the health authority in Taiwan. METHODS A two-phase economic model, 1-year decision analysis and a 60-year Markov simulation, was developed to conceptualize the screening intervention within current practice, and was compared with opportunistic screening alone. Incremental analyses were conducted to compare the incremental costs and outcomes associated with the introduction of the intervention. Sensitivity analyses were performed to investigate the uncertainties that surrounded the model. RESULTS The Markov model simulation demonstrated an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of NT

Economic evaluation of a National SunSmart Program

498,000 (US

Influenza vaccination for 'at risk' Australian adults aged between 18 to 64

15,600) per life-year saved, with a 5% discount rate. An ICER of NT

Tobacco reforms literature review: final report

402,000 (US

Costs Related to Skin Cancer Prevention in Victoria and Australia

12,600) per quality-adjusted life-year was achieved by applying utility weights. Sensitivity analysis showed that excess mortality reduction of HCC by screening and HCC incidence rates were the most influential factors on the ICERs. Scenario analysis also indicated that expansion of the HCC screening intervention by focusing on regular monitoring of the high-risk individuals could achieve a more favorable result. CONCLUSION Screening the population of high-risk individuals for HCC with the two-stage screening intervention in Taiwan is considered potentially cost-effective compared with opportunistic screening in the target population of an HCC endemic area.