Economic Evaluation of Treatments for Patients with Esophageal Cancer: A Systematic Review

Context: Esophageal cancer is considered as a malignant disease with fatal consequences worldwide. In cancers, it is the sixth most common cause of mortality in the world. Objectives: The aim of the current study was to assess the cost-effectiveness of esophageal cancer treatments by performing a systematic review. DataSources:We conducted systematic searches in Medline throughPubMed, Scopus, Cochran Library, EMBASE,andWeb of Science databases. The search was limited to English language publications and studies published before July 17, 2018. Results: Of 2487 records, 14 articles met our inclusion criteria. Most were conducted in The United States of America (USA) and The United Kingdom (UK). The majority of the evaluations (8) followed a healthcare system perspective. Of 14 included studies, 4 compared esophagectomy with endoscopy treatment (ET), 2 compared esophagectomy with chemotherapy regimens, 2 contrasted chemotherapy regimens, and 5 studied compared palliative cares. Conclusions: Among all the assessed studies, the ET was more cost-effective than esophagectomy, but there were contradictory results in palliative care for the treatment of esophageal cancer.