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Cost-effectiveness of photobiomodulation therapy for the prevention and management of cancer treatment toxicities: a systematic review

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Abstract

Purpose

To identify and summarize the evidence on the cost-effectiveness of photobiomodulation (PBM) therapy for the prevention and treatment of cancer treatment-related toxicities.

Methods

This systematic review was performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement (PRISMA) and Meta-analysis Of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (MOOSE). Scopus, MEDLINE/PubMed, and Embase were searched electronically.

Results

A total of 1490 studies were identified, and after a two-step review, 4 articles met the inclusion criteria. The included studies analyzed the cost-effectiveness of PBM therapy used in the context of lymphedema for breast cancer and oral mucositis (OM) induced by chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Better outcomes were associated with PBM therapy. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio ranged from 3050.75 USD to 5592.10 USD per grade 3–4 OM case prevented. PBM therapy cost 21.47 USD per percentage point reduction in lymphedema in comparison with 80.51 USD for manual lymph drainage and physical therapy.

Conclusion

There is limited evidence that PBM therapy is cost-effective in the prevention and treatment of specific cancer treatment-related toxicities, namely, OM and breast cancer-related lymphedema. Studies may have underreported the benefits due to a lack of a comprehensive cost evaluation. This suggests a wider acceptance of PBM therapy at cancer treatment centers, which has thus far been limited by the number of robust clinical studies that demonstrate cost-effectiveness for the prevention and treatment of toxicities.

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Data availability

The authors confirm that the data supporting the findings of the study are available within the article and supplementary materials.

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Funding

This study is financially supported by the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) processes numbers 2018/02233-6 and 2018/23479-3, as well as the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq).

Author information

Author notes

  1. Elisa Kauark Fontes and Leticia Rodrigues-Oliveira contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Oral Diagnosis Department, Piracicaba Dental School, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Piracicaba, SP, Brazil

    Elisa Kauark-Fontes, Leticia Rodrigues-Oliveira, Anna Luiza Damaceno Araújo, Marcio Ajudarte Lopes, Carolina Guimarães Bonfim Alves, Natalia Rangel Palmier, Ana Carolina Prado-Ribeiro & Alan Roger Santos-Silva

  2. Cedars-Sinai Health System, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Joel B Epstein

  3. City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, Duarte, CA, USA

    Joel B Epstein

  4. Dental Oncology Service, Instituto do Câncer do Estado de São Paulo (ICESP), São Paulo, SP, Brazil

    Karina Morais Faria, Carolina Guimarães Bonfim Alves, Ana Carolina Prado-Ribeiro & Thaís Bianca Brandão

  5. Clinical and Preventive Dentistry Department, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, PE, Brazil

    Luiz Alcino Monteiro Gueiros

  6. College of Dentistry, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA

    Cesar Augusto Migliorati

  7. College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA

    Ramzi G. Salloum

  8. THOR Photomedicine Ltd, Chesham, Buckinghamshire, UK

    Patricia Burton & James Carroll

Authors
  1. Elisa Kauark-Fontes
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  2. Leticia Rodrigues-Oliveira
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Correspondence to Alan Roger Santos-Silva.

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Kauark-Fontes, E., Rodrigues-Oliveira, L., Epstein, J.B. et al. Cost-effectiveness of photobiomodulation therapy for the prevention and management of cancer treatment toxicities: a systematic review. Support Care Cancer 29, 2875–2884 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-020-05949-1

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