Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Intraoperative Frozen Section in Women with Breast Cancer: Evidence from South of Iran

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is one of the most prevalent malignancies in women worldwide, and the rate of breast cancer is increasing among Iranian women. The purpose of this study is to determine the cost-effectiveness of intraoperative frozen section analysis in women with breast cancer. METHODS: This study was a cost-effectiveness analysis, which was implemented as a cross-sectional study from a societal perspective. In this case, total direct and indirect costs were calculated, and the study outcome was involved in preventing reoperation. A data collection form has been used to collect the cost and effectiveness data. The sample size was comprised of all the patients referred to the hospitals of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences for breast cancer surgery in 2019. The patients were studied in two different groups, including individuals who received frozen counseling during surgery, and individuals who did not receive it. A one-way sensitivity analysis was performed for this case. Moreover, the Tree Age and Microsoft Excel Software were employed for analyzing processes. RESULTS: The results demonstrated that the mean costs of frozen and non-frozen patients were 4168$ and 3843$ purchasing power parity (PPP), respectively. In addition, the effectivenesses were 0.996 for the former and 0.8 for the latter. Furthermore, the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) was 1658.2 PPP$. This issue revealed that the frozen section procedure during surgery was more cost-effective than the other case. Because, the cost-effectiveness of this option was below the threshold. Besides, the one-way sensitivity analysis confirmed the robustness of the study results. CONCLUSION: The results showed that performing frozen sections during surgery in women with breast cancer was more cost-effective than ignoring them. Indeed, the frozen section can prevent the costs of subsequent reoperations.