Costing Analysis

Prostate cancer has all the characteristics of a chronic disease, yet little emphasis is placed on determining what treatment options are most successful considering the cost to both patient and community.

The three main options available for management are:

• Radical prostatectomy, where the entire prostate is surgically removed
• Radiotherapy
• Active surveillance, where patients are monitored closely for advancement of their disease

 Despite the magnitude of the disease, it has not been established that one treatment option dominates another in obtaining disease-free survival or overall survival. An economic evaluation is carried out using decision analytic modeling to form a health technology assessment. To obtain this, the best available evidence from literature and local sources is explored to establish the most cost-effective option for management of prostate cancer.  Special emphasis is placed on the use of routine data in establishing a costing methodology and model. The study will have a Norwegian health service perspective, based mainly on costs from Oslo University Hospital and Vestfold Hospital.

This project is in close collaboration with the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.