ECONOMIC-EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVE ADJUVANT CHEMOTHERAPY MODALITIES FOR COLORECTAL-CARCINOMA

Concerns regarding quality of care, combined with financial constraint s, have fostered the growth of health economic analyses. The accompany ing cost-effectiveness analysis of intraportal adjuvant chemotherapy b y Messori et al. illustrates the strengths and limitations of health e conomic investigations. The reader of cost-effectiveness studies must examine the relevance and perspective of the cost data, the accuracy a nd generalizability of the assumed clinical benefits, and the relation ship of the investigated treatment strategies to standard clinical pra ctice. As clinicians learn to interpret health economic analyses and o ther forms of outcomes-based research, unnecessary expenditures will b e avoided and the quality of care will improve.