Moinpour C M
Southwest Oncology Group Statistical Center, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA 98104, USA.
J Natl Cancer Inst Monogr. 1996(20):11-6.
Quality-of-life (QOL) research in Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG) trials has achieved increasing support over the past 5 years. The purpose of this paper is to estimate the cost of performing QOL research in SWOG trials. During the month of January 1995, we tracked staff time expended for QOL tasks at the SWOG's Operations Office and Statistical Center. Of interest was a description of average costs per patient enrolled in existing SWOG trials (both open and closed), including protocol development, ongoing data monitoring, and QOL data analysis. The findings emphasize the personnel-intensive nature of this research and highlight the role of "start-up" costs, especially in terms of programmer time. It is estimated that average monthly direct costs associated with implementing a QOL study and monitoring and analyzing QOL data over the life cycles of current and closed SWOG QOL protocols are $7304; a $443 per QOL patient total cost figure is also presented. Costs associated with initiating QOL research in cooperative groups are substantial (4-5-year start-up investment) but are expected to decline after systems for monitoring, retrieving, and analyzing QOL data are in place. Funding issues are addressed.
在过去5年中，西南肿瘤协作组（SWOG）试验中的生活质量（QOL）研究获得了越来越多的支持。本文的目的是估算在SWOG试验中开展QOL研究的成本。1995年1月，我们跟踪了SWOG运营办公室和统计中心为QOL任务所花费的员工时间。我们感兴趣的是描述现有SWOG试验（包括正在进行的和已结束的）中每名入组患者的平均成本，包括方案制定、持续的数据监测以及QOL数据分析。研究结果强调了这项研究的人员密集型性质，并突出了“启动”成本的作用，尤其是程序员时间方面。据估计，在当前和已结束的SWOG QOL方案的生命周期内，开展一项QOL研究以及监测和分析QOL数据的平均每月直接成本为7304美元；还给出了每名QOL患者443美元的总成本数字。在协作组中启动QOL研究的成本很高（4 - 5年的启动投资），但预计在用于监测、检索和分析QOL数据的系统建立起来之后成本会下降。文中还讨论了资金问题。
