With ever increasing demands on the constrained resources available for health care services, no one involved in decision making in health care can continue to ignore the economic costs of the services provided or the relative value for money offered by the available treatments. Economic evaluation has therefore become an important and indispensable tool for medical deci sion making, alongside the well-known methods for clinical eval uation. This is also true for cancer, despite the aura of sanctity often of surrounding this dreaded disease and the apparent willingness the general population to spend large sums in this area and do "everything possible" for the patients. In recent years, articles dealing with assessing the costs and benefits of various cancer treatments have begun to appear in scientific medical and eco nomic journals. This book provides a comprehensive survey and assessment of the current state of the art of economic evaluations and cost ana lyses in cancer. It gives an introduction to the methods available for economic evaluations, before surveying and assessing the available publications. Separate chapters are devoted to the most prevalent cancers, and in each chapter the current clinical prac tice and research problems are summarized in order to provide a background for the economic analyses. At the end, a summary assessment of the literature is provided along with some sugges tions for a future research agenda.

Epidemiology of Cancer

Cancer and Some Basics of the Main Treatment Modalities
Cancer Understood as a Cellular Disease
The Main Treatment Modalities
A Brief Introduction to Economic Evaluation
Cost-of-Illness Analysis
The Meaning of the Term "Economic Evaluation"
A Framework for Economic Evaluations
The Economic Burden of Cancer
Methodological Considerations
Calculations
Concluding Remarks
Breast Cancer
Treatment Options
Economic Evaluations
Concluding Remarks
Lung Cancer
Economic Evaluations
Concluding Remarks
Colorectal Cancer
Economic Evaluations
Concluding Remarks
Prostate Cancer
Treatment Options
Economic Evaluations
Concluding Remarks
Genitourinary and Gynecological Cancer
Bladder Cancer
Testis Cancer
Ovarian Cancer
Hematological Malignancies
Leukemias
Lymphomas
Economic Evaluations
Concluding Remarks
Supportive Care I: Emesis and Infections
Infections in the Cancer Patient and Treatment with Antimicrobials
Supportive Care II: Hematological Support
Febrile Neutropenia and Colony-Stimulating Factors
Transplantation of Blood Progenitor or Stem Cells
Palliative Care
Economic Evaluations of Pain Management
Economic Evaluations of Alternatives in Palliative Care
Concluding Remarks
Conclusion
General Methodological Issues in Economic Evaluations of Health Care
Final Remarks
References.