title: Cost-effectiveness of therapies for melanoma.
abstract: Melanoma presents an important burden worldwide. Until recently, the prognosis for unresectable and metastatic melanoma was poor, with 10% of metastatic melanoma patients surviving for 2 years. The introduction of newer therapies including ipilimumab, vemurafenib, dabrafenib and trametinib improved progression-free survival, with additional benefits anticipated from the forthcoming class of programmed cell death 1 inhibitors. Cost of therapy and resulting cost-effectiveness is an important factor in determining patient access to specific treatments. The objective of this study was to review the published evidence regarding cost-effectiveness of melanoma therapies and provide an overview of the relative cost-effectiveness of available therapies by disease stage. For earlier-stage disease, IFN-α has been found to be cost-effective, although its clinical benefits have not been well established. For unresectable and metastatic melanoma, newer therapies provide benefits over standard-of-care chemotherapy, but comprehensive analyses will need to be conducted to determine the most cost-effective therapy.
authors.affiliation: ICON Epidemiology, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
authors.forename: Karissa M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Johnston
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: McPherson
authors.forename: Katherine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Osenenko
authors.forename: Joanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vergidis
authors.forename: Adrian R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Levy
authors.forename: Stuart
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Peacock
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000191:economics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D015195:Drug Design; D006801:Humans; D008545:Melanoma / Q000191:economics / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000191:economics / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents
keywords: cost–effectiveness; economic evaluation; melanoma; oncology; review