Cost‐effectiveness of oral cancer screening approaches by visual examination: Systematic review. Issue 11 (14th July 2021) - Thankappan, Krishnakumar
Abstract: The present study is the first systematic review of papers that have performed a full economic evaluation on oral cancer screening strategies using visual oral examination. The review questions were (1) Is screening a cost‐effective strategy in oral cancer? (2) What is the most cost‐effective strategy among the different screening approaches in oral cancer? The main outcome measure was the incremental cost‐effectiveness ratio. The study identifies and reviews seven full economic evaluations. The included studies scored 75%–100% on the methodological appraisal. Majority of the studies reports that oral cancer screening is a cost‐effective strategy, especially in an opportunistic setting and high‐risk subset of patients. The results were sensitive to cost and effectiveness parameters. Oral cancer screening, though found cost‐effective, the uncertainty around these parameters necessitates additional studies that include better estimates in the modeling assessments. The heterogeneity in studies limited comparison and generalization.