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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Endosc Int Open 2021; 09(10): E1512-E1519
DOI: 10.1055/a-1522-8762
Original article

Cost comparisons of endoscopic and surgical resection of stage T1 rectal cancer

Victoria Arthursson
1   Department of Clinical Sciences, Malmö, Section of Surgery, Skåne University Hospital, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden
,
Roberto Rosén
1   Department of Clinical Sciences, Malmö, Section of Surgery, Skåne University Hospital, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden
,
Jenny M. Norlin
2   The Swedish Institute for Health Economics, Lund, Sweden
,
Katarina Gralén
2   The Swedish Institute for Health Economics, Lund, Sweden
,
Ervin Toth
3   Department of Clinical Sciences, Section of Gastroenterology, Skåne University Hospital, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden
,
Ingvar Syk
1   Department of Clinical Sciences, Malmö, Section of Surgery, Skåne University Hospital, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden
,
Henrik Thorlacius
1   Department of Clinical Sciences, Malmö, Section of Surgery, Skåne University Hospital, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden
,
Carl-Fredrik Rönnow
1   Department of Clinical Sciences, Malmö, Section of Surgery, Skåne University Hospital, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden
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Abstract

Background and study aims Management of T1 rectal cancer is complex and includes several resection methods, making cost comparisons challenging. The aim of this study was to compare costs of endoscopic and surgical resection and to investigate hypothetical cost scenarios for the treatment of T1 rectal cancer.

Patients and methods Retrospective population-based cost minimization study on prospectively collected data on T1 rectal cancer patients treated using endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD), transanal endoscopic microsurgery (TEM), open, laparoscopic, or robotic resection, in Skåne County, Sweden (2011–2017). The hypothetical cost scenarios were based on the distribution of high-risk features of lymph node metastases in a national cohort (2009–2017).

Results Eighty-five patients with T1 RC undergoing ESD (n = 16), TEM (n = 17), open (n = 35), laparoscopic (n = 9), and robotic (n = 8) resection were included. ESD had a total 1-year cost of 5165 € and was significantly (P < 0.05) less expensive compared to TEM (14871€), open (21 453 €), laparoscopic (22 488 €) and robotic resection (26 562 €). Risk factors for lymph node metastases were seen in 68 % of 779 cases of T1 rectal cancers included in the national cohort. The hypothetical scenario of performing ESD on all T1 RC had the lowest total 1-year per patient cost compared to all other alternatives.

Conclusions This is the first study analyzing total 1-year costs of endoscopic and surgical methods to resect T1 rectal cancer, which showed that the cost of ESD was significantly lower compared to TEM and surgical resection. In fact, based on hypothetical cost scenarios, ESD is still justifiable from a cost perspective even when all high-risk cases are followed by surgery in accordance to guidelines.



Publication History

Received: 25 January 2021

Accepted: 19 May 2021

Article published online:
16 September 2021

© 2021. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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