Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Mar;7(2):407-419.
doi: 10.1016/j.euf.2019.09.002. Epub 2019 Sep 14.

A Decision Analysis Evaluating Screening for Kidney Cancer Using Focused Renal Ultrasound

Affiliations

A Decision Analysis Evaluating Screening for Kidney Cancer Using Focused Renal Ultrasound

Sabrina H Rossi et al. Eur Urol Focus. 2021 Mar.

Abstract

Background: Screening for renal cell carcinoma (RCC) has been identified as a key research priority; however, no randomised control trials have been performed. Value of information analysis can determine whether further research on this topic is of value.

Objective: To determine (1) whether current evidence suggests that screening is potentially cost-effective and, if so, (2) in which age/sex groups, (3) identify evidence gaps, and (4) estimate the value of further research to close those gaps.

Design, setting, and participants: A decision model was developed evaluating screening in asymptomatic individuals in the UK. A National Health Service perspective was adopted.

Intervention: A single focused renal ultrasound scan compared with standard of care (no screening).

Outcome measurements and statistical analysis: Expected lifetime costs, quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), and incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER), discounted at 3.5% per annum.

Results and limitations: Given a prevalence of RCC of 0.34% (0.18-0.54%), screening 60-yr-old men resulted in an ICER of £18 092/QALY (€22 843/QALY). Given a prevalence of RCC of 0.16% (0.08-0.25%), screening 60-yr-old women resulted in an ICER of £37327/QALY (€47 129/QALY). In the one-way sensitivity analysis, the ICER was <£30000/QALY as long as the prevalence of RCC was ≥0.25% for men and ≥0.2% for women at age 60yr. Given the willingness to pay a threshold of £30000/QALY (€37 878/QALY), the population-expected values of perfect information were £194 million (€244 million) and £97 million (€123 million) for 60-yr-old men and women, respectively. The expected value of perfect parameter information suggests that the prevalence of RCC and stage shift associated with screening are key research priorities.

Conclusions: Current evidence suggests that one-off screening of 60-yr-old men is potentially cost-effective and that further research into this topic would be of value to society.

Patient summary: Economic modelling suggests that screening 60-yr-old men for kidney cancer using ultrasound may be a good use of resources and that further research on this topic should be performed.

Keywords: Cost-effectiveness; Kidney cancer; Renal cell cancer; Screening; Ultrasound.

PubMed Disclaimer

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources