Is PSMA PET/CT cost-effective for the primary staging in prostate cancer? First results for European countries and the USA based on the proPSMA trial

• Published in: European journal of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging Vol. 50; no. 12; pp. 3750 - 3754
• Main Authors: Holzgreve, Adrien, Unterrainer, Marcus, Calais, Jérémie, Adams, Thaiza, Oprea-Lager, Daniela E., Goffin, Karolien, Lopci, Egesta, Unterrainer, Lena M., Kramer, Kristina K. M., Schmidt-Hegemann, Nina-Sophie, Casuscelli, Jozefina, Stief, Christian G., Ricke, Jens, Bartenstein, Peter, Kunz, Wolfgang G., Mehrens, Dirk
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.10.2023; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Cardiology; Computed tomography; Cost analysis; Cost benefit analysis; Costs; Decision analysis; Decision trees; Diagnosis; Effectiveness; Imaging; Medical imaging; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Metastases; Nuclear Medicine; Oncology; Orthopedics; Positron emission; Positron emission tomography; Prostate cancer; Radiology; Short Communication; United States > US; Cost-effectiveness analysis; Primary staging; PSMA PET/CT; Prostate cancer; ProPSMA trial
• ISSN: 1619-7070; 1619-7089
• DOI: 10.1007/s00259-023-06332-y

Purpose The proPSMA trial at ten Australian centers demonstrated increased sensitivity and specificity for PSMA PET/CT compared to conventional imaging regarding metastatic status in primary high-risk prostate cancer patients. A cost-effectiveness analysis showed benefits of PSMA PET/CT over conventional imaging for the Australian setting. However, comparable data for other countries are lacking. Therefore, we aimed to verify the cost-effectiveness of PSMA PET/CT in several European countries as well as the USA. Methods Clinical data on diagnostic accuracy were derived from the proPSMA trial. Costs for PSMA PET/CT and conventional imaging were taken from reimbursements of national health systems and individual billing information of selected centers in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and the USA. For comparability, scan duration and the decision tree of the analysis were adopted from the Australian cost-effectiveness study. Results In contrast to the Australian setting, PSMA PET/CT was primarily associated with increased costs in the studied centers in Europe and the USA. Mainly, the scan duration had an impact on the cost-effectiveness. However, costs for an accurate diagnosis using PSMA PET/CT seemed reasonably low compared to the potential consequential costs of an inaccurate diagnosis. Conclusion We assume that the use of PSMA PET/CT is appropriate from a health economic perspective, but this will need to be verified by a prospective evaluation of patients at initial diagnosis.