A systematic review to identify research gaps in studies modeling MenB vaccinations against Neisseria infections.

The genus Neisseria includes two major human pathogens: N. meningitidis causing bacterial meningitis/septicemia and N. gonorrhoeae causing gonorrhoea.

A structured process for the validation of a decision-analytic model: application to a cost-effectiveness model for risk-stratified national breast screening.

Background: Decision-makers require knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of decision-analytic models used to evaluate healthcare interventions to be able to confidently use the results of such models to inform policy. A number of aspects of model validity have previously been described, but no systematic approach to assessing the validity of a model has been proposed. This study aimed to consolidate the different aspects of model validity into a step-by-step approach to assessing the strengths and weaknesses of a decision-analytic model.

Survival estimates stratified by the Nottingham Prognostic Index for early breast cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.

Background: Estimates of survival for women diagnosed with early staged breast cancer are available based on stratification into prognostic categories defined using the Nottingham Prognostic Index (NPI). This review aimed to identify and summarize the estimated survival statistics from separate sources in the literature and to explore the extent of between-study heterogeneity in survival estimates.

Methods: Observational studies in women diagnosed with early and locally advanced breast cancer reporting overall survival by NPI category were identified using a systematic literature search.

Evaluation of a Stratified National Breast Screening Program in the United Kingdom: An Early Model-Based Cost-Effectiveness Analysis.

Objectives: To identify the incremental costs and consequences of stratified national breast screening programs (stratified NBSPs) and drivers of relative cost-effectiveness.

Methods: A decision-analytic model (discrete event simulation) was conceptualized to represent four stratified NBSPs (risk 1, risk 2, masking [supplemental screening for women with higher breast density], and masking and risk 1) compared with the current UK NBSP and no screening. The model assumed a lifetime horizon, the health service perspective to identify costs (£, 2015), and measured consequences in quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs).