title: Prevalence of off-label use and spending in 2010 among patent-protected chemotherapies in a population-based cohort of medical oncologists.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The prevalence of off-label anticancer drug use is not well characterized. The extent of off-label use is a policy concern because the clinical benefits of such use to patients may not outweigh costs or adverse health outcomes.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prescribing data from IntrinsiQ Intellidose data systems, a pharmacy software provider maintaining a population-based cohort database of medical oncologists, was analyzed. Use of the most commonly prescribed anticancer drugs ("chemotherapies") that were patent protected and administered intravenously to patients in 2010 was examined. Use was classified as "on-label" if the cancer site, stage, and therapy line met the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved indication. All other use was "off-label." Off-label use was divided by whether it conformed to National Comprehensive Care Network (NCCN) Compendium recommendations, a basis of insurer coverage policies. IMS Health National Sales Perspectives was used to estimate national spending by use category.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Ten chemotherapies met inclusion criteria. On-label use amounted to 70%, and off-label use amounted to 30%. Fourteen percent of use conformed to an NCCN-supported off-label indication, and 10% of off-label use was associated with an FDA-approved cancer site, but an NCCN-unsupported cancer stage and/or line of therapy. Total national spending on these chemotherapies amounted to $12 billion (B; $7.3B on-label, $2B off-label and NCCN supported; $2.5B off-label and NCCN unsupported).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Commonly used, novel chemotherapies are more often used on-label than off-label in contemporary practice. Off-label use is composed of a roughly equal mix of chemotherapy applied in clinical settings supported by the NCCN and those that are not.
authors: Department of Pediatrics, Section of Hematology/Oncology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA. rconti@uchicago.edu
authors: Rena M
authors: RM
authors: Conti
authors: Arielle C
authors: AC
authors: Bernstein
authors: Victoria M
authors: VM
authors: Villaflor
authors: Richard L
authors: RL
authors: Schilsky
authors: Meredith B
authors: MB
authors: Rosenthal
authors: Peter B
authors: PB
authors: Bach
mesh_terms: D015331:Cohort Studies; D016208:Databases, Factual; D006801:Humans; D008495:Medical Oncology; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D056687:Off-Label Use / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010604:Pharmacy; D014481:United States