On Sept 22, 2025, STEPUPIORS coordinator Milena Čavić defended her MSc Thesis “Health economic evaluation of liquid biopsy in treatment decision management of patients with locally advanced rectal cancer in Serbia” at the School of Medicine & Faculty of Organizational Studies, University of Belgrade, Serbia, within Master of Science academic studies, Management in the healthcare system.
The thesis formed a crucial part of the project by assessing the technical, human and organizational capacities, as well as the first needs in the field of colorectal cancer. The obtained results showed that there is a strong network of interested parties with satisfactory human, infrastructure and organizational capacities for liquid biopsy analyses in Serbia. Using 8 patient-models derived from a real-world STEPUPIORS cohort, the application of liquid biopsy in this setting might prove to be cost-effective after careful patient sub-selection. A future complete health-economic evaluation of the addition of ctDNA analysis in treatment management of patients with rectal cancer might serve as a basis for updating national
treatment guidelines for this cancer type.
