Cost-utility analysis of chemotherapy in symptomatic advanced nonsmall cell lung cancer.
When using chemotherapy in patients with a short life expectancy, outcomes such as symptom improvement or clinical benefit receive increasing attention. Outcomes of subjective benefit to the patient can be rated as a utility in order to perform health economic analyses and comparisons with other treatment conditions. A cost-utility analysis has been performed alongside a prospective randomised clinical trial comparing single agent gemcitabine to cisplatin-based chemotherapy in symptomatic advanced nonsmall cell lung cancer patients. Global quality of life as well as resource utilisation data were collected during first-line chemotherapy for both treatment arms. Incremental costs, utilities and cost-utility ratio were calculated. Per patient, an incremental cost of 1,522 was obtained for gemcitabine compared to cisplatin-vindesine, mainly as a consequence of the direct cost of the cytotoxic drugs. When combined with utilities, this resulted in an incremental cost-utility ratio for gemcitabine of 13,836 per quality-adjusted life year gained. In conclusion, although the least expensive strategy is cisplatin-vindesine, the greater clinical benefit of gemcitabine, resulting in an acceptable incremental cost-utility ratio as compared with other healthcare interventions, balances its higher cost. The gains in subjective outcome achieved with palliative chemotherapy are critical from both a clinical and a health economic point of view.
Respiratory Oncology Unit (Pulmonology) and Leuven Lung Cancer Group, Catholic University, Leuven, Belgium. christophe.dooms@uz.kuleuven.ac.be
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Dooms
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Lievens
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JF
Vansteenkiste
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000191:economics* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000191:economics*; D002945:Cisplatin / Q000191:economics* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003841:Deoxycytidine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000191:economics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000191:economics*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014751:Vindesine / Q000191:economics* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000093542:Gemcitabine
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D003841:Deoxycytidine; D002945:Cisplatin; D014751:Vindesine; D000093542:Gemcitabine