AUTHOR=Campolina Alessandro G. , Yuba Tania Y. , Decimoni Tassia C. , Leandro Roseli , Diz Maria del Pilar Estevez , Novaes Hillegonda M. D. , de Soárez Patrícia C. 

TITLE=Health Economic Evaluations of Cancer in Brazil: A Systematic Review

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=6

YEAR=2018

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2018.00205

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2018.00205

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Background:</bold> A large number of health economic evaluation (HEE) studies have been published in developed countries. However, Brazilian HEE literature in oncology has not been studied. Objective: To investigate whether the scientific literature has provided a set of HEE in oncology capable of supporting decision making in the Brazilian context.</p><p><bold>Methods:</bold> A systematic review was conducted to identify and characterize studies in this field. We searched multiple databases selecting partial and full HEE studies in oncology (1998-2013).</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> Fifty-five articles were reviewed, of these, 33 (60%) were full health economic evaluations. Type of cancers most frequently studied were: breast (38.2%), cervical (14.6%), lung (10.9%) and colorectal (9.1%). Procedures (47.3%) were the technologies most frequently evaluated. In terms of the intended purposes of the technologies, most (63.6%) were treatments. The majority of the incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) reported have been below the cost-effectiveness threshold suggested by the World Health Organization (WHO).</p><p><bold>Conclusions:</bold> There has been an increase in the number of HEEs related to cancer in Brazil. These studies may support decision-making processes regarding the coverage of and reimbursement of healthcare technologies for cancer treatment in Brazil.</p>