Table 2.
Sensitivity analyses
| Parameter | Range | Incremental cost-effectiveness ratio |
|
| Lower bound | Upper bound | ||
| NED ⇒ nodal recurrence, RD, and dissection (%) | 10–35 | PET-CT dominates | PET-CT dominates |
| Nodal recurrence ⇒ death (%) | 50–90 | PET-CT dominates | PET-CT dominates |
| NED-Dissection utility | 0.7–0.9 | PET-CT dominates | $380 000/QALY DA over PET-CT |
| PET-CT sensitivity (%) | 80–99 | $4000/QALY PET-CT over CT | PET-CT dominates |
| PET-CT specificity (%) | 70–90 | PET-CT dominates | PET-CT dominates |
| CT sensitivity (%) | 70–90 | PET-CT dominates | $31 000/QALY PET-CT over CT |
| RD probability after chemoradiotherapy (%) | 10–50 | $1500/QALY PET-CT over CT | PET-CT dominates |
| Immediate dissection cost ($) | 6000–10 000 | PET-CT dominates | PET-CT dominates |
| Salvage dissection cost ($) | 7000–12 000 | PET-CT dominates | $18 000/QALY PET-CT over DA |
| PET-CT cost ($) | 1000–1800 | PET-CT dominates | PET-CT dominates |
‘Dominates’ refers to a strategy that is more effective and less costly than the baseline strategy (DA). Scenarios in which PET-CT does not dominate the other strategies are shaded.
QALY, quality-adjusted life year; NED, no evidence of disease; RD, residual disease; DA, dissect all; PET-CT, positron emission tomography–computed tomography; CT, computed tomography.