Using appropriate comparisons in economic evaluations - An exercise in Belgium

This paper considers standard effective treatments for non-Hodgkin's lympho ma and early breast cancer in premenopausal women. The literature assesses the treatments' effectiveness, and expected charges for different treatment s in the context of the Belgian Health Insurance System are compared. Ovari ectomy in breast cancer (770 ECU) and conventional chemotherapy in non-Hodg kin (2,745 lymphoma ECU) prove equally effective and are less costly in com parison with chemotherapy (1,904 ECU) in breast cancer or chemotherapy and autologous bone marrow transplantation (19,262 ECU) in non-Hodgkin's lympho ma. Further unbiased insights in competitive treatments' costs and outcome could save money and enhance developments in cancer care.