• A H M M Arits, E Spoorenberg, K Mosterd, P Nelemans, N W J Kelleners-Smeets, and B A B Essers.
• Department of Dermatology, Maastricht University Medical Centre, P.O. Box 5800, 6202, AZ Maastricht, the Netherlands; Grow Research Institute for Oncology and Developmental Biology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
• Br. J. Dermatol. 2014 Dec 1;171(6):1501-7.

BackgroundA recent noninferiority randomized trial showed that in terms of clinical effectiveness imiquimod was superior and topical fluorouracil noninferior to methylaminolaevulinate photodynamic therapy (MAL-PDT) for treatment of superficial basal-cell carcinoma (sBCC). Although it was expected that MAL-PDT would be more costly than either cream, a full cost-effectiveness analysis is necessary to determine the balance between effectiveness and costs.ObjectiveTo determine whether imiquimod or topical fluorouracil are cost-effective treatments for sBCC compared with MAL-PDT.MethodsAn economic evaluation was performed from a healthcare perspective. Data on resource use and costs were collected alongside the randomized clinical trial. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was expressed as the incremental costs per additional patient free of tumour recurrence.ResultsAt 12 months follow-up, the total mean costs for MAL-PDT were €680, for imiquimod cream €526 and for topical fluorouracil cream €388. Both imiquimod and topical fluorouracil were cost-effective treatments compared with MAL-PDT. Comparing costs and effectiveness of both creams led to a incremental investment of €4451 to achieve an additional patient free of tumour recurrence. The acceptability curve showed that, for a threshold value of €4451, the probability of imiquimod being more cost-effective than topical fluorouracil was 50%.ConclusionBased on the 12 months follow-up results, imiquimod and topical fluorouracil cream are more cost-effective than MAL-PDT for treatment of sBCC. Hence, substituting MAL-PDT with either imiquimod or topical fluorouracil results in cost savings; these savings will be larger for topical fluorouracil. Long-term follow-up effectiveness data are necessary to confirm the cost-effectiveness of imiquimod vs. topical 5-fluorouracil cream.© 2014 British Association of Dermatologists.

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