Osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are chronic conditions that lead to long-term disability and decrease the QOL of affected patients. The most widely used treatments for these conditions have mostly been traditional NSAIDs. However, these agents are commonly associated with an increased risk of GI adverse events, the prevention and/or treatment of which contributes to substantial additional costs among patients. Etoricoxib, a COX-2 inhibitor, has been shown in clinical trials to be at least as efficacious as high-dose traditional NSAIDs in managing the signs and symptoms of OA and RA. Moreover, etoricoxib is well tolerated and its use is associated with fewer clinically significant GI adverse events than traditional NSAIDs. The economic consequences of fewer GI adverse events may well be significant in the treatment of patients with OA and RA, and studies examining the related costs and efficacy issues were presented at the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology [Lisbon, Portugal; June 2003].