The impact of cost on quality of surgical management in non-metastatic extremity sarcoma: A cross-country narrative literature review with a systematic approach.

Background: Extremity sarcoma surgery entails significant costs for patients, governments and insurers. Multiple studies have described individual costs, however, the overall impact of cost on the quality of surgical care remains unclear.

Objectives: A narrative review with a systematic approach was undertaken to compare the impact of cost on the quality of extremity sarcoma care across low-middle-income and high-income countries.

Data sources: MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane, PsycInfo, DARE, NHS-EED, HTA.

Methods: A systematic search was conducted using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. Inclusion criteria were: discussion of costs and the surgical management of primary extremity sarcoma. There were no restrictions on study design, publication type, date, geographic location or publication status. A data extraction table was used to identify study location, type and findings.

Results: 1012 studies were retrieved and 44 met the inclusion criteria. Four additional studies were identified from the reference lists of included articles. 27 studies were published in high-income countries (HIC) including all four full health economic analyses and 20 studies were published in low-middle income countries (LMC). Within LMC, cost impeded access to diagnosis, resection and options for reconstruction. In HIC, cost varied with choice of management, particularly during the long-term postoperative period.

Conclusions: Within LMC, cost impaired the provision of quality, curative care for patients with extremity sarcoma. Within HIC, while costs varied with chosen management, they were not prohibitive to the provision of quality care. Further research is required, specific to both socioeconomic contexts, to further describe the long-term cost-utility of different methods for the surgical management of extremity sarcoma.