Economic evaluation of complementary and alternative medicine in oncology: is there a difference compared to conventional medicine?
- Objective: To analyze the financial burden of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in cancer treatment. Materials and Methods: Based on a systematic search of the literature (Medline and the Cochrane Library, combining the MeSH terms ‘complementary therapies', ‘neoplasms', ‘costs', ‘cost analysis', and ‘cost-benefit analysis'), an expert panel discussed different types of analyses and their significance for CAM in oncology. Results: Of 755 publications, 43 met our criteria. The types of economic analyses and their parameters discussed for CAM in oncology were cost, cost-benefit, cost-effectiveness, and cost-utility analyses. Only a few articles included arguments in favor of or against these different methods, and only a few arguments were specific for CAM because most CAM methods address a broad range of treatment aim parameters to assess effectiveness and are hard to define. Additionally, the choice of comparative treatments is difficult. To evaluate utility, healthy subjects may not be adequate as patients with a life-threatening disease and may be judged differently, especially with respect to a holistic treatment approach. We did not find any arguments in the literature that were directed at the economic analysis of CAM in oncology. Therefore, a comprehensive approach assessment based on criteria from evidence-based medicine evaluating direct and indirect costs is recommended. Conclusion: The usual approaches to conventional medicine to assess costs, benefits, and effectiveness seem adequate in the field of CAM in oncology. Additionally, a thorough deliberation on the comparator, endpoints, and instruments is mandatory for designing studies.
Author: | Jutta Hübner, Franz J. Prott, Ralph Mücke, Christoph Stoll, Jens Büntzel, Karsten Münstedt, Oliver Micke |
---|---|
URN: | urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-447502 |
DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1159/000450645 |
Parent Title (English): | Medical principles and practice |
Document Type: | Article |
Language: | English |
Year of Completion: | 2017 |
Date of first Publication: | 2016/09/07 |
Publishing Institution: | Universitätsbibliothek Johann Christian Senckenberg |
Contributing Corporation: | Prevention and Integrative Oncology of the German Cancer Society Working Group |
Release Date: | 2017/11/01 |
Tag: | Benefit; Cancer; Complementary medicine; Costs; Economic evaluation; Evidence-based medicine |
Volume: | 26.2017 |
Page Number: | 9 |
First Page: | 41 |
Last Page: | 49 |
Note: | This is an Open Access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC) (www.karger.com/OA-license), applicable to the online version of the article only. Distribution permitted for non-commercial purposes only. |
HeBIS-PPN: | 428648371 |
Institutes: | Medizin / Medizin |
Dewey Decimal Classification: | 6 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften / 61 Medizin und Gesundheit / 610 Medizin und Gesundheit |
Sammlungen: | Universitätspublikationen |
Licence (German): | Creative Commons - Namensnennung-Nicht kommerziell 3.0 |