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New Study Shows Cost Effectiveness of Early Cancer Surveillance for Patients Who Have a High Risk of Developing Cancer

Patient scene with two women

SALT LAKE CITY – New research published today in the journal Pediatric Blood and Cancer shows how early cancer screening and surveillance in patients with Li-Fraumeni Syndrome (LFS) results in additional years of life, and is cost effective for third-party payers.

LFS is an inherited genetic condition that greatly increases the risk of developing several types of cancer. People diagnosed with LFS have a one in two chance of developing cancer by 30, and a nearly 100 percent risk of developing cancer in their lifetime, compared to the lifetime cancer risk of the average person of almost 40 percent.

The study, led by , cancer researcher at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) and professor of pediatrics at the (U of U), in collaboration with Casey Tak, PhD, assistant professor at the University of North Carolina Eshelman School of Pharmacy, looked at data throughout the lifetimes of patients who were diagnosed with LFS. The researchers examined the cumulative costs and life expectancy for these high-risk patients, comparing those who received cancer surveillance with those who did not.

"We were able to simulate the costs and benefits of early cancer surveillance versus standard of care over a lifetime," said Schiffman. "This allowed us to gain a long-term view of the effects that undergoing, or not undergoing, cancer surveillance may have for patients with LFS."

By using a decision-analytical model, the researchers showed that LFS patients who received early cancer surveillance extended their lifetime, but incurred higher healthcare costs. With each additional year of life these patients gained, payers had an incremental medical cost of about $17,000. This expenditure compares very favorably to commonly accepted thresholds of willingness to pay per life-year gained of $100,000.

"This type of research has been conducted in other populations who are at high risk of cancer development, and it is nice to see this also holds true for patients with LFS," said Schiffman. "One of the biggest clinical challenges we have with early cancer screenings for our LFS patients is receiving insurance approval. Hopefully, we can use this research to show that, not only does early cancer screening save lives, but it is also cost effective for LFS patients."

The research team plans to continue to investigate and validate the cost-effectiveness of early tumor surveillance for patients with LFS, including determining actual number of dollars spent with various healthcare systems.

"Ensuring patients with LFS have good and affordable access to cancer surveillance will result in more cost-effective care for the entire healthcare system," said Tak.

The study was funded by the National Cancer Institute P30 CA042014, Huntsman Cancer Foundation, the Program in Personalized Heath at the University of Utah, Soccer for Hope, and the Li-Fraumeni Syndrome Association.

Media Contact

Heather Simonsen
Public Affairs Senior Manager
Huntsman Cancer Institute
801 581-3194
public.affairs@hci.utah.edu

About Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah

Huntsman Cancer Institute at the is the National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center for Utah, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, and Wyoming. With a legacy of innovative cancer research, groundbreaking discoveries, and world-class patient care, we are transforming the way cancer is understood, prevented, diagnosed, treated, and survived. Huntsman Cancer Institute focuses on delivering the most advanced cancer healing and prevention through scientific breakthroughs and cutting-edge technology to advance cancer treatments of the future beyond the standard of care today. We have more than 300 open clinical trials and 250 research teams studying cancer. More genes for inherited cancers have been discovered at Huntsman Cancer Institute than at any other cancer center. Our scientists are world-renowned for understanding how cancer begins and using that knowledge to develop innovative approaches to treat each patient’s unique disease. Huntsman Cancer Institute was founded by Jon M. and Karen Huntsman.

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