Sanelli, Pina C.

ABSTRACT Background Given the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' coverage of screening CT colonography (CTC) beginning in January 2025, we evaluated the cost‐effectiveness of CTC for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening by race (Black and White) and gender, considering real‐world screening adherence. Methods A microsimulation model compared CRC screening strategies in average‐risk adults by race and gender, incorporating 2010–2019 U.S. data on disease progression and real‐world screening adherence for colonoscopy and fecal immunochemical test (FIT). Five strategies were compared: (1) status quo (choice between colonoscopy and FIT); (2) CTC every 5 years; (3) colonoscopy every 10 years; (4) annual FIT; and (5) multitarget stool DNA test every 3 years, plus no screening. Lifetime costs, quality‐adjusted life years gained (QALYG), and incremental cost‐effectiveness ratios were projected. A willingness‐to‐pay threshold of $100,000/QALYG was used. Results Under the status quo, Black adults showed higher CRC cases and greater utilization for FIT over colonoscopy than White adults. Compared to the status quo, the CTC strategy yielded more QALYG and fewer CRC cases among Black adults, but fewer QALYG and more CRC cases among White adults. Both status quo and CTC strategies outperformed other strategies across races. The CTC strategy was the dominant strategy for Black adults. For White adults, the status quo was cost‐effective with incremental cost‐effectiveness ratios of $34,998–$73,428/QALYG, while the CTC strategy was cost saving compared to no screening. Conclusions CTC could be cost‐effective for CRC screening in Black adults under real‐world screening adherence, supporting Medicare coverage to address specific population needs and structural barriers to screening.

Abstract BACKGROUND Both stent-assisted coiling (SAC) and flow diversion with the Pipeline Embolization device (PED; Medtronic Inc) have been shown to be safe and clinically effective for treatment of small (<10 mm) unruptured aneurysms. However, the economic impact of these different techniques has not been established. OBJECTIVE To analyze the cost-effectiveness between stent-assisted coiling and flow diversion using PED, including procedural costs, long-term outcomes, and aneurysm recurrence. METHODS A decision-analytical study was performed with Markov modeling methods to simulate patients undergoing SAC or PED for treatment for unruptured aneurysms of sizes 5 and 7 mm. Input probabilities were derived from prior literature, and 1-way, 2-way, and probabilistic sensitivity analyses (PSA) were performed. RESULTS In base case calculation and PSA, PED was the dominant strategy for both the size groups, with and without consideration of indirect costs. One-way sensitivity analyses show that the conclusion remained robust when varying the retreatment rate of SAC from 0% to 50%, and only changes when the retreatment rate of PED > 49%. PED remained the more cost-effective strategy when the morbidity and mortality of PED increased by <55% and when those of SAC decreased by <37%. SAC only became cost-effective when the total cost of PED is >$73000 more expensive than the total cost of SAC. CONCLUSION With increasing use of PED for treatment of small unruptured anterior circulation aneurysms, our study indicates that PED is cost-effective relative to stent coiling irrespective of aneurysm size. This is due to lower aneurysm recurrence rate, as well as better health outcomes.