Cost-Effectiveness of Palliative Chemotherapy in Advanced Gastrointestinal Cancer

The 1995 study involved 61 patients with inoperable gastrointestinal cancer and assessed the cost-effectiveness of palliative chemotherapy versus best supportive care alone. It found that patients receiving chemotherapy had improved or prolonged high quality of life (58% vs. 29%) and longer median overall survival (9 months vs. 4 months), with significant benefits for gastric cancer patients. The cost of medical care was 50% higher for the chemotherapy group, but the cost per day alive was the same for both groups due to the longer survival of chemotherapy patients. The incremental costs per gained year of life were acceptable for gastric and colorectal cancer but higher for pancreatic-biliary cancer. The study concluded that palliative chemotherapy is cost-effective for advanced gastric and colorectal cancer, but further research is needed for pancreatic-biliary cancer. The study also highlighted the need for larger studies to provide more precise estimates of palliative effects.