Indirect Treatment Comparison (ITC)

An indirect treatment comparison (ITC) is a method used to estimate the comparative effectiveness between two treatments (treatment A and treatment B) that have not been directly compared in head-to-head trials. Instead, both treatments have been compared separately to a common comparator (treatment C). By using the results of these separate comparisons, treatments A and B can be indirectly compared through their shared comparator, C.

This method is particularly valuable in healthcare research where direct comparison studies are unavailable or infeasible. ITCs enable researchers and decision-makers to evaluate the relative effectiveness of different interventions, providing critical information for treatment selection and healthcare policy.

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