Health state utility values associated with advanced gastric, oesophageal, or gastro-oesophageal junction adenocarcinoma: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVES: To systematically identify utility values associated with advanced gastric cancer (GC), oesophageal cancer (OC), or gastro-oesophageal junction (GEJ) cancer. Utility values relating to health states are an essential component for cost-utility analysis (CUA). METHODS: MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Library, and EconLit databases were reviewed for relevant studies using a pre-defined search strategy. Studies eligible for inclusion reported health state utility values (HSUVs) using direct (standard gamble [SG] and time-trade-off [TTO]) and indirect (such as EuroQol 5D [EQ-5D], short-form 6D [SF-6D], and the 15-dimensional instrument [15D]) methods for patients with advanced GC, OC, or GEJ cancer. RESULTS: A total of 539 unique publications were identified, of which eight met the inclusion criteria (GC, n = 2; mixed population [gastrointestinal cancers], n = 4; OC, n = ). The most commonly used instrument to estimate HSUVs was the EQ-5D (n = 7). Utilities were also estimated using the SF-6D and the 15D in the same study (n = 1). Direct elicitation methods included the TTO (n = 2) and SG (n = 1). Across the eight identified publications, health states and study populations were heterogeneous and sample sizes were limited. LIMITATIONS: This review, as with all summaries of this nature, is only as robust as the data derived from the identified studies. The systematic review process does not resolve any design issues or biases associated with the original studies. CONCLUSIONS: Limited data estimate HSUVs in patients with advanced GC, OC, or GEJ cancer. Utilities for advanced GC alone and advanced OC alone were reported in only two publications for each cancer type. No publications considered advanced GEJ utilities alone, and four publications considered utilities for a mixed population of gastrointestinal cancer types. Comparisons are confounded by heterogeneity across the identified publications. Further research into HSUVs associated with advanced GC and OC is required to improve the evidence available for use in CUAs.