Cost-effectiveness of monitoring and liver cancer surveillance among patients with inactive chronic hepatitis B.

Patients with chronic hepatitis B infection (CHB) have an increased risk for death from liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In the United States, only an estimated 37% of adults with chronic hepatitis B diagnosis without cirrhosis receive monitoring with at least an annual alanine tr...

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Main Authors: Mehlika Toy, David Hutton, Erin E Conners, Hang Pham, Joshua A Salomon, Samuel So
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2025-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0313898
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author Mehlika Toy
David Hutton
Erin E Conners
Hang Pham
Joshua A Salomon
Samuel So
author_facet Mehlika Toy
David Hutton
Erin E Conners
Hang Pham
Joshua A Salomon
Samuel So
author_sort Mehlika Toy
collection DOAJ
description Patients with chronic hepatitis B infection (CHB) have an increased risk for death from liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In the United States, only an estimated 37% of adults with chronic hepatitis B diagnosis without cirrhosis receive monitoring with at least an annual alanine transaminase (ALT) and hepatitis B deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), and an estimated 59% receive antiviral treatment when they develop active hepatitis or cirrhosis. A Markov model was used to calculate the costs, health impact and cost-effectiveness of increased monitoring of adults with HBeAg negative inactive or HBeAg positive immune tolerant CHB who have no cirrhosis or significant fibrosis and are not recommended by the current American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) clinical practice guidelines to receive antiviral treatment, and to assess whether the addition of HCC surveillance would be cost-effective. For every 100,000 adults with CHB who were initially not recommended for treatment, if the monitoring rate increased from the current 37% to 90% and treatment rate increased from 59% to 80%, 4,600 cases of cirrhosis, 2,450 cases of HCC and 4,700 HBV-related deaths would be averted with a gain of 45,000 QALYs and a savings of $180 million in lifetime health care costs. At a willingness to pay threshold of $100,000/QALY, the addition of HCC surveillance with the standard recommended biannual liver ultrasound and alfa fetoprotein levels is likely cost-effective if the HCC risk ≥ 0.55%/year. Regular monitoring of persons with inactive or immune tolerant CHB who are initially not recommended to receive antiviral treatment in the United States is cost-saving. The addition of HCC surveillance with biannual US and AFP would be cost-effective for individuals with HCC incidence ≥ 0.55%/year.
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spelling doaj-art-9a35a22ca43a456caedfb257a9f4d4362025-08-20T01:48:37ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032025-01-01201e031389810.1371/journal.pone.0313898Cost-effectiveness of monitoring and liver cancer surveillance among patients with inactive chronic hepatitis B.Mehlika ToyDavid HuttonErin E ConnersHang PhamJoshua A SalomonSamuel SoPatients with chronic hepatitis B infection (CHB) have an increased risk for death from liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In the United States, only an estimated 37% of adults with chronic hepatitis B diagnosis without cirrhosis receive monitoring with at least an annual alanine transaminase (ALT) and hepatitis B deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), and an estimated 59% receive antiviral treatment when they develop active hepatitis or cirrhosis. A Markov model was used to calculate the costs, health impact and cost-effectiveness of increased monitoring of adults with HBeAg negative inactive or HBeAg positive immune tolerant CHB who have no cirrhosis or significant fibrosis and are not recommended by the current American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) clinical practice guidelines to receive antiviral treatment, and to assess whether the addition of HCC surveillance would be cost-effective. For every 100,000 adults with CHB who were initially not recommended for treatment, if the monitoring rate increased from the current 37% to 90% and treatment rate increased from 59% to 80%, 4,600 cases of cirrhosis, 2,450 cases of HCC and 4,700 HBV-related deaths would be averted with a gain of 45,000 QALYs and a savings of $180 million in lifetime health care costs. At a willingness to pay threshold of $100,000/QALY, the addition of HCC surveillance with the standard recommended biannual liver ultrasound and alfa fetoprotein levels is likely cost-effective if the HCC risk ≥ 0.55%/year. Regular monitoring of persons with inactive or immune tolerant CHB who are initially not recommended to receive antiviral treatment in the United States is cost-saving. The addition of HCC surveillance with biannual US and AFP would be cost-effective for individuals with HCC incidence ≥ 0.55%/year.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0313898
spellingShingle Mehlika Toy
David Hutton
Erin E Conners
Hang Pham
Joshua A Salomon
Samuel So
Cost-effectiveness of monitoring and liver cancer surveillance among patients with inactive chronic hepatitis B.
PLoS ONE
title Cost-effectiveness of monitoring and liver cancer surveillance among patients with inactive chronic hepatitis B.
title_full Cost-effectiveness of monitoring and liver cancer surveillance among patients with inactive chronic hepatitis B.
title_fullStr Cost-effectiveness of monitoring and liver cancer surveillance among patients with inactive chronic hepatitis B.
title_full_unstemmed Cost-effectiveness of monitoring and liver cancer surveillance among patients with inactive chronic hepatitis B.
title_short Cost-effectiveness of monitoring and liver cancer surveillance among patients with inactive chronic hepatitis B.
title_sort cost effectiveness of monitoring and liver cancer surveillance among patients with inactive chronic hepatitis b
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0313898
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