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PET Scans for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
"…we conclude that the additional use of PET in the staging of patients with [non-small-cell lung cancer] is feasible and safe and saves costs from a clinical and an economic perspective."
"Cost-effectiveness of FDG-PET in staging non-small cell lung cancer: the PLUS study," by Paul Verboom, et al, in The European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Vol. 30, No. 11, November 2003, page 1449. |
PET scans are able to reduce futile operations for lung cancer by 50 percent. While avoiding such surgeries obviously benefits patients, a recent study also found that, in doing so, PET scans reduce overall costs.1 Click here to view the study
- In the group of patients who received conventional diagnostic work-up, 41 percent of patients underwent futile operations. In the group who also received PET scans, only 21 percent of the operations were futile.
- The reduction translated into one prevented unnecessary surgery for every five PET scans.
- The average cost of treatment based on a conventional diagnostic work-up as compared to a work-up that included a PET scan was €9,573 versus €8,284. As the table shows, the savings came from reduced costs of surgery, hospital stays, and intensive care.
1 "Cost-Effectiveness of FDG-PET in Staging Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: The PLUS Study," Paul Verboom, et al, The European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Vol. 30, No. 11, November 2003.
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