Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the leading cause of death in patients with cirrhosis. A new analysis indicates that following screening guidelines for HCC in cirrhotic patients is lifesaving and cost-effective compared with ‘real life’ monitoring.
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the leading cause of death in patients with cirrhosis. A new analysis indicates that following screening guidelines for HCC in cirrhotic patients is lifesaving and cost-effective compared with ‘real life’ monitoring.
Compared with ‘real life’ monitoring, following the guidelines for screening—which recommends biannual ultrasound—increased life expectancy by an average of 5 months and was cost-effective at $1754 per additional life year gained with French costs and at $32,415 per additional life year gained with US costs. “The large difference between French and US costs was explained by the 4- to 10-fold difference in unit costs for surveillance—clinic visits, tests—and for first-line curative treatments,” said Dr. Isabelle Durand-Zaleski, co-author of the Hepatology study.
Additional Information
Link to study: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/hep.28961/abstract
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The premier publication in the field of liver disease, HEPATOLOGY publishes original, peer-reviewed articles concerning all aspects of liver structure, function and disease. Each month, the distinguished Editorial Board monitors and selects only the best articles on subjects such as immunology, chronic hepatitis, viral hepatitis, cirrhosis, genetic and metabolic liver diseases and their complications, liver cancer, and drug metabolism.
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