Appraising the economic efficiency of cancer treatment: an exploratory analysis of lung cancer.

This paper tests whether the measured cost-effectiveness of treating different subgroups of an incident population of lung cancer patients differs significantly and, by implication, whether the provision of care to these patients is tolerably efficient in economic terms. Data from administrative records and Registry follow-up on 544 non-small cell lung cancer patients diagnosed at a single NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center are used to conduct the empirical analysis. The main results show statistically significant differences in cumulative costs and patient outcomes across subgroups differing by disease stage and treatment modality. These findings imply that the delivery of lung cancer care is inefficient. Substantive and methodological implications are discussed.