Table 3 Overview of economic studies included in two previous HTAs

Recurrence of colorectal cancer

Park et al. 2001, USA [95]

Patients with an increase in carcinoembryonic antigen levels of > 5 ng/ml during follow-up testing after the resection of their primary CRC

CT+PET versus CT

Public payer (Medicare)/CEA using a model approach (decision tree)

ICER (US$/LYG): 16,437

Fair^b

Sloka et al. 2004, Canada [96]

65-year-old patient presenting with suspected recurrent CRC

CT+PET versus CT

Hospital/CEA using a model approach (decision tree)

Cost savings: C$1,758^a

Fair^b

Staging of head and neck cancer

Hollenbeak et al. 2001, USA [97]

HNSCC patients with no evidence of lymph node involvement

CT+PET versus CT

Hospital/CEA/CUA using a model approach (decision tree)

ICER (US$/LYG (US$/QALY)): 8,718 (2,505)

Fair^b

Restaging of malignant lymphoma

Bradbury et al. 2002, UK [29]

HD patients who have achieved a partial or complete response to induction therapy

(1) All for surveillance; (2) All for consolidation; (3) CT; (4) PET after positive CT; (5) (CT)+PET

Health care system/CUA using a model approach (decision model with two components: decision tree and Markov model)

Strategies 4 and 5 were found to be cost-effective, provided WTP exceeds £1000/LYG, and for almost all input values considered, provided WTP exceeds £5000/LYG

Good^b

Diagnosis of solitary pulmonary nodules

Dietlein et al. 2000, Germany [98]

62-year-old man with a SPN of up to 3 cm without calcification, specula and enlargement of mediastinal lymph nodes

(1) WW; (2) TNB; (3) Exploratory surgery; (4) PET

Public insurer/CEA using a model approach (decision tree)

Best ICER (€/LYG): 3,218 (4 versus 1); the exploratory surgery strategy was found to be dominated by PET

Good^{b, c}

Gambhir et al. 1998, USA [99]

64-year-old white man (1.5 packs/day smoker) with a 2.5-cm nodule

(1) WW (baseline strategy); (2) Thoracotomy; (3) CT; (4) CT+PET

Public payer (Medicare)/CEA using a model approach (decision tree)

Best ICER (US$/LYG): 3,266 for CT

Good^{b, c}

Gould et al. 2003, USA [100]

62-year-old patient with a new, non-calcified pulmonary nodule seen on chest radiograph

40 clinically plausible sequences of five diagnostic technologies: CT, PET, TNB, surgery, and WW (baseline strategy)

Societal/CUA using a model approach (Markov model)

Best ICER (US$/QALY): 10,935 for strategy 7 (CT: if results indeterminate, biopsy; if results benign, WW)/7,625 for strategy 7/6,515 for CT (if results indeterminate, surgery; if results benign, WW)**

Good^b

Staging of non-small cell lung cancer

Bradbury et al. 2002, UK [29]

Medically fit for either surgery or non-surgical treatment, 62-year-old patient

(1) All for surgery; (2) All for non-surgical treatment; (3) MS; (4) PET after negative MS; (5) PET; (6) MS after negative PET; (7) MS after positive PET (no N0/1 M1 disease)

Health care system/CUA using a model approach (decision tree)

Best ICER (£/QALY): 58,951 for CT-positive patients (7 versus 3); 10,475 for CT-negative patients (7 versus 1)

Good^b

Dietlein et al. 2000, Germany [31]

62-year-old man with histologically established and assessed as locally resectable NSCLC without distant metastases

(1) Conventional staging; (2) PET in patients with normal-sized lymph nodes; (3) PET for all; (4) PET without supplementary MS if positive CT and PET; (5) PET without supplementary MS if positive PET

Public insurer/CEA using a model approach (decision tree)

Best ICER (€/LYG): 143 (2 versus 1); 15,325 (4 versus 2); 17,438 (5 versus 3)

Good^b

Dussault et al. 2001, Canada [101]

65-year-old male with histologically confirmed NSCLC without mediastinal and distant metastases

CT+PET versus CT

Health care system/CEA using a model approach (decision tree)

ICER (C$/LYG): 4,689

Good^b

Kosuda et al. 2000, Japan [102]

Patient with suspected NSCLC, stage IIIB or less

CT+PET versus CT

Hospital/CEA using a model approach (decision tree)

ICER (¥/LYG): 218,000

Good^{b, c}

Scott et al. 1998, USA [30]

64-year-old male with NSCLC

(1) CT (MS after positive CT); (2) PET after negative CT (MS after positive CT); (3) CT+PET (MS after positive PET); (4) CT+PET (MS after positive CT or positive PET after negative CT)

Public payer (Medicare)/CEA using a model approach (decision tree)

Best ICER (US$/LYG): 25,286 (2 versus 1)

Good^c

Sloka et al. 2004, Canada [103]

65-year-old patient with suspected NSCLC

CT+PET versus CT

Health care system/CEA using a model approach (decision tree)

Cost-savings: C$1,455^a

Good^b