TY - JOUR AU - Heinzel, A. AU - Müller, Dirk AU - Langen, Karl-Josef AU - Blaum, Marcus AU - Verburg, Frederik Anton AU - Mottaghy, Felix M AU - Galldiks, Norbert TI - The Use of O-(2-18F-Fluoroethyl)-L-Tyrosine PET for Treatment Management of Bevacizumab and Irinotecan in Patients with Recurrent High-Grade Glioma: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis. JO - Journal of nuclear medicine VL - 54 IS - 8 SN - 0161-5505 CY - Reston, Va. PB - SNM84042 M1 - FZJ-2013-03983 SP - 1217-1222 PY - 2013 AB - To date, the use of structural MR imaging (including contrast-enhanced and T2-weighted or fluid-attenuated inversion recovery-weighted images) is the standard method to diagnose tumor progression and to assess antiangiogenic treatment effects. However, several studies have suggested that O-(2-(18)F-fluoroethyl)-l-tyrosine ((18)F-FET) PET adds valuable clinical information to the information derived from structural MR imaging alone. We evaluated the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the addition of (18)F-FET PET to structural MR imaging for the management of treatment with bevacizumab and irinotecan (BEV/IR) in patients with recurrent high-grade glioma compared with MR imaging alone from the perspective of the German Statutory Health Insurance.To evaluate the incremental cost-effectiveness of the additional use of (18)F-FET PET, a decision tree model was used. Effectiveness of (18)F-FET PET was defined as correct identification of both tumor progression before BEV/IR treatment initiation and BEV/IR treatment response and was evaluated for the combination of (18)F-FET PET and MR imaging compared with MR imaging alone. Costs were estimated for a baseline scenario and for a more expensive scenario. The robustness of the results was tested using deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses.The use of (18)F-FET PET resulted in a number needed to diagnose of 2.4, that is, 3 additional patients have to be diagnosed to avoid 1 wrong diagnosis. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of (18)F-FET PET/MR imaging compared with MR imaging alone was €5,725 (€1 ≈ $1.30) for the baseline scenario and €8,145 for the more expensive scenario per additional correct diagnosis. The probabilistic sensitivity analysis confirmed the robustness of the results.The model suggests that the additional use of (18)F-FET PET in the management of patients with recurrent high-grade glioma treated with BEV/IR may be cost-effective. Integration of (18)F-FET PET has the potential to avoid overtreatment and corresponding costs, as well as unnecessary side effects to the patient. LB - PUB:(DE-HGF)16 C6 - pmid:23785172 UR - <Go to ISI:>//WOS:000322692400026 DO - DOI:10.2967/jnumed.113.120089 UR - https://juser.fz-juelich.de/record/137550 ER -