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The recognition that
breast cancer is a major cause of cancer death among women in
Western countries and that early breast cancer detection can enhance
treatment success has triggered the promotion of large-scale screening
programs. At the same time, physicians, third-party payers, and
policy makers realize that, in light of soaring medical costs,
the economic consequences of mass screening should be addressed.
These exercises will
help familiarize you with the practical applications of economic
analysis to breast cancer screening programs. The variables selected
for inclusion in or exclusion from any economic analysis may alter
study results, which in turn may affect the applicability of the
analysis to policy decision-making. With breast cancer screening
in particular, such factors as type of screening method (e.g.
physician examination, mammography), cost of initial screening,
screening interval, and population risk characteristics (e.g.
age, family history of breast cancer) all influence the conclusions
of economic analyses.
Data in these exercises
have been obtained from available literature and simplified for
illustrative purposes.
The screens that follow
present a series of problems and questions for you to answer.
It is recommended that you explore these sections in order:
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