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Current Oncology
Volume 29
Issue 2
10.3390/curroncol29020039
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Communication

Appropriateness and Economic Analysis of Conventional Circulating Biomarkers Assessment in Early Breast Cancer: A Real-World Experience from the E.Pic.A Study

by
Roberta Maltoni
1,*,†,
William Balzi
1,†,
Tania Rossi
2,
Francesco Fabbri
2,
Sara Bravaccini
2,
Maria Teresa Montella
1,
Ilaria Massa
1,
Lucia Bertoni
1,
Fabio Falcini
3,4 and
Mattia Altini
5
1
Healthcare Administration, IRCCS, Istituto Romagnolo per lo Studio dei Tumori (IRST) “Dino Amadori”, 47014 Meldola, Italy
2
Biosciences Laboratory, IRCCS, Istituto Romagnolo per lo Studio dei Tumori (IRST) “Dino Amadori”, 47014 Meldola, Italy
3
Cancer Prevention Unit, Local Health Authority, 47121 Forlì, Italy
4
Romagna Cancer Registry, Romagna Cancer Institute, IRCCS, Istituto Romagnolo per lo Studio dei Tumori (IRST) “Dino Amadori”, 47014 Meldola, Italy
5
Healthcare Administration, Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale della Romagna, 48121 Ravenna, Italy
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Curr. Oncol. 2022, 29(2), 433-438; https://doi.org/10.3390/curroncol29020039
Submission received: 8 December 2021 / Revised: 5 January 2022 / Accepted: 13 January 2022 / Published: 18 January 2022
(This article belongs to the Section Health Economics)
Versions Notes

Abstract

The risk of relapse for early breast cancer (BC) patients persists even after decades and to date, no specific and sensitive effective circulating biomarker for recurrence prediction has been identified yet. The international guidelines do not recommend the assessment of the serum tumor markers CEA and CA15-3 in the follow-up of asymptomatic early BC patients. In our institute, IRCCS Istituto Romagnolo per lo Studio dei Tumori (IRST) “Dino Amadori”, as part of the E.Pic.A study, which was designed to assess the economic appropriateness of integrated care pathways in early BC, the use of CEA and CA15-3 as circulating tumor biomarkers in early BC patients was evaluated in 1502 patients one year after surgery, from 2015 to 2018, with an overall expense of EUR 51,764. A total of EUR 47,780 (92%) was used for execution of circulating tumor markers in early BC patients with stage 0, I and II tumors, neglecting the current guidelines and considered inappropriate by our professional board. We found that no patients with stage I BC experienced relapse in the 365 days after surgery, and in any case examination of the circulating markers CEA and CA15-3 was considered crucial for diagnosis of relapse. Our findings suggest that this inadequacy is a low-value area, supporting the reallocation of economic resources for interventions of a higher value for patients.
Keywords: breast cancer; key performance index (KPI); circulating biomarker; appropriateness; economic resource breast cancer; key performance index (KPI); circulating biomarker; appropriateness; economic resource

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MDPI and ACS Style

Maltoni, R.; Balzi, W.; Rossi, T.; Fabbri, F.; Bravaccini, S.; Montella, M.T.; Massa, I.; Bertoni, L.; Falcini, F.; Altini, M. Appropriateness and Economic Analysis of Conventional Circulating Biomarkers Assessment in Early Breast Cancer: A Real-World Experience from the E.Pic.A Study. Curr. Oncol. 2022, 29, 433-438. https://doi.org/10.3390/curroncol29020039

AMA Style

Maltoni R, Balzi W, Rossi T, Fabbri F, Bravaccini S, Montella MT, Massa I, Bertoni L, Falcini F, Altini M. Appropriateness and Economic Analysis of Conventional Circulating Biomarkers Assessment in Early Breast Cancer: A Real-World Experience from the E.Pic.A Study. Current Oncology. 2022; 29(2):433-438. https://doi.org/10.3390/curroncol29020039

Chicago/Turabian Style

Maltoni, Roberta, William Balzi, Tania Rossi, Francesco Fabbri, Sara Bravaccini, Maria Teresa Montella, Ilaria Massa, Lucia Bertoni, Fabio Falcini, and Mattia Altini. 2022. "Appropriateness and Economic Analysis of Conventional Circulating Biomarkers Assessment in Early Breast Cancer: A Real-World Experience from the E.Pic.A Study" Current Oncology 29, no. 2: 433-438. https://doi.org/10.3390/curroncol29020039

APA Style

Maltoni, R., Balzi, W., Rossi, T., Fabbri, F., Bravaccini, S., Montella, M. T., Massa, I., Bertoni, L., Falcini, F., & Altini, M. (2022). Appropriateness and Economic Analysis of Conventional Circulating Biomarkers Assessment in Early Breast Cancer: A Real-World Experience from the E.Pic.A Study. Current Oncology, 29(2), 433-438. https://doi.org/10.3390/curroncol29020039

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