Cost-effectiveness of Laparoscopic vs Open Gastrectomy for Gastric Cancer
Authors: van der Veen Arjen , van der Meulen Miriam P. , Seesing Maarten F. J. , Brenkman Hylke J. F. , Haverkamp Leonie , Luyer Misha D. P. , Nieuwenhuijzen Grard A. P. , Stoot Jan H. M. B. , Tegels Juul J. W. , Wijnhoven Bas P. L. , Lagarde Sjoerd M. , de Steur Wobbe O. , Hartgrink Henk H. , Kouwenhoven Ewout A. , Wassenaar Eelco B. , Draaisma Werner A. , Gisbertz Suzanne S. , van der Peet Donald L. , van Laarhoven Hanneke W. M. , Frederix Geert W. J. , Ruurda Jelle P. , van Hillegersberg Richard ,   Laparoscopic vs Open Gastrectomy for Gastric Cancer (LOGICA) study group, Eligh Anne M , Ponten Jeroen EH , Heesakkers Fanny FBM , Hulsewe Karel WE , Tweed Thais TT , van Lanschot Jan JB , van Det Marc J , van Duijvendijk Peter , van der Zaag Edwin S , Broeders Ivo AMJ , van Berge Henegouwen Mark I , Daams Freek 
Published: December 2022

Importance

Laparoscopic gastrectomy is rapidly being adopted worldwide as an alternative to open gastrectomy to treat gastric cancer. However, laparoscopic gastrectomy might be more expensive as a result of longer operating times and more expensive surgical materials. To date, the cost-effectiveness of both procedures has not been prospectively evaluated in a randomized clinical trial.

Objective

To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of laparoscopic compared with open gastrectomy.

Design, Setting, and Participants

In this multicenter randomized clinical trial of patients undergoing total or distal gastrectomy in 10 Dutch tertiary referral centers, cost-effectiveness data were collected alongside a multicenter randomized clinical trial on laparoscopic vs open gastrectomy for resectable gastric adenocarcinoma (cT1-4aN0-3bM0). A modified societal perspective and 1-year time horizon were used. Costs were calculated on the individual patient level by using hospital registry data and medical consumption and productivity loss questionnaires. The unit costs of laparoscopic and open gastrectomy were calculated bottom-up. Quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) were calculated with the EuroQol 5-dimension questionnaire, in which a value of 0 indicates death and 1 indicates perfect health. Missing questionnaire data were imputed with multiple imputation. Bootstrapping was performed to estimate the uncertainty surrounding the cost-effectiveness. The study was conducted from March 17, 2015, to August 20, 2018. Data analyses were performed between September 1, 2020, and November 17, 2021.

Interventions

Laparoscopic vs open gastrectomy.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Evaluations in this cost-effectiveness analysis included total costs and QALYs.

Results

Between 2015 and 2018, 227 patients were included. Mean (SD) age was 67.5 (11.7) years, and 140 were male (61.7%). Unit costs for initial surgery were calculated to be €8124 (US $8087) for laparoscopic total gastrectomy, €7353 (US $7320) for laparoscopic distal gastrectomy, €6584 (US $6554) for open total gastrectomy, and €5893 (US $5866) for open distal gastrectomy. Mean total costs after 1-year follow-up were €26 084 (US $25 965) in the laparoscopic group and €25 332 (US $25 216) in the open group (difference, €752 [US $749; 3.0%]). Mean (SD) QALY contributions during 1 year were 0.665 (0.298) in the laparoscopic group and 0.686 (0.288) in the open group (difference, −0.021). Bootstrapping showed that these differences between treatment groups were relatively small compared with the uncertainty of the analysis.

Conclusions and Relevance

Although the laparoscopic gastrectomy itself was more expensive, after 1-year follow-up, results suggest that differences in both total costs and effectiveness were limited between laparoscopic and open gastrectomy. These results support centers’ choosing, based on their own preference, whether to (de)implement laparoscopic gastrectomy as an alternative to open gastrectomy.