ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Health Economics
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1479966
This article is part of the Research TopicHealthcare Coverage and Payment Reforms in Low- and Middle-Income CountriesView all 11 articles
Cost-effectiveness Analysis of Population-based BRCA1/2 Testing, Family-History-based BRCA1/2 Testing, and symptom-based screening for Breast and Ovarian Cancer in China
Provisionally accepted- 1Department of Digestive Surgery, Xijing Hospital of Digestive Diseases, Air Force Medical University, Xi'an, China
- 2Institute for Hospital Management, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
- 3Department of Dermatology, Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
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Background: The women's cancer screening program has been operational for several years in China, primarily utilizing palpation and ultrasound. Given the proven impact of BRCA1/2 mutations on the incidence of breast and ovarian cancer, the cost-effectiveness of incorporating BRCA1/2 mutation testing into these programs, either for the entire population or through enrichment based on family history of breast and ovarian cancer, remains poorly researched.Methods: We constructed a decision tree model to compare the cost-effectiveness of three strategies: symptom-based screening only (Symptom-only strategy), population-based BRCA1/2 testing (Population-based strategy), and family-history-based BRCA1/2 testing (FH-based strategy). One-way and probability sensitivity analyses enabled model uncertainty evaluation. Outcomes included early and advanced stages of ovarian and breast cancer. Cost, quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) were calculated. The target population was women at 40-60 years, the time horizon was until age 70, and the perspective was payer-based.Results: The FH-based strategy was found to be cost-effective compared to the Symptom-only strategy (ICER: ¥185,710/QALY, gaining 0.26 days' life expectancy). Its cost-effectiveness was significantly influenced by the risks of ovarian and breast cancer among BRCA1/2 carriers, the prevalence of BRCA1/2 mutations in the general Chinese population, the prevalence of family history of breast and ovarian cancer among Chinese women, and the prevalence of BRCA1/2 mutations in the FH-positive population. Integrating these variable distributions, the FH-based strategy showed a 76.96% probability of cost-effectiveness. The Population-based strategy was not cost-effective, whether compared to the Symptom-only strategy (ICER: ¥504,476/QALY, gaining 2.66 days' life expectancy) or to the FH-based strategy (ICER: ¥539,476/QALY, gaining 2.41 days' life expectancy). The prevalence of BRCA1/2 mutations in the general Chinese population was identified as the primary variable affecting its cost-effectiveness. Integrating these variable distributions, the Population-based strategy had a probability of cost-effectiveness of only 0.8%.Conclusions: Incorporating family-history-based BRCA1/2 testing into breast and ovarian cancer screening programs is cost-effective in China and warrants promotion.
Keywords: BRCA1, BRCA2, ovarian cancer, breast cancer, family history, China, Cost-Effectiveness
Received: 13 Aug 2024; Accepted: 29 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhao, Wang, Lu, Feng, Ran and Yang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Liwei Ran, Department of Dermatology, Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
Jianjun Yang, Department of Digestive Surgery, Xijing Hospital of Digestive Diseases, Air Force Medical University, Xi'an, China
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