Cost-effectiveness Analysis of Cetuximab in Treatment of Metastatic Colorectal Cancer in Iranian Pharmaceutical Market.
BACKGROUND
Cetuximab is a monoclonal antibody which acts against the epidermal growth-factor receptor. Randomized controlled trials show that the addition of cetuximab to folinic acid, 5-flourouracil, irinotecan (FOLFIRI), folinic acid, 5-flourouracil, oxaliplatin (FOLFOX) and capecitabin + oxaliplatin (CAPOX) regimens, as the first-line treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC), increases the overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) compared to FOLFIRI, FOLFOX and CAPOX regimens alone. The aim of this study was to analyze the cost-effectiveness of different treatment programs for managing metastatic CRC with and without cetuximab in the first-line treatment of unresectable metastatic CRC in Iran.


METHODS
A systematic search of the literature was performed in PubMed, Centre for Reviews and Dissemination Databases and Cochrane Library to assess the effectiveness of the drug in the context of PFS, OS and the adverse events. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of each treatment program was calculated. An extensive sensitivity analysis was conducted on the results regarding the effectiveness.


RESULTS
The addition of cetuximab to FOLFIRI, FOLFOX and CAPOX programs increased PFS by 0.1, 0.042 and 0.042 years, respectively. Similarly, the addition of cetuximab to FOLFIRI, FOLFOX and CAPOX increased OS by 0.325, 0.442 and 0.442 years and also cost $212825, $202484 and $204198 individually. Whereas, based on the World Health Organisation (WHO) suggested threshold for cost-effectiveness analysis, even FOLFOX + cetuximab was very higher than the threshold in Iran (37.4 times higher).


CONCLUSIONS
The FOLFOX regimen + cetuximab provides lower costs per additional life years gained (more cost-effective) compared with its alternatives in the treatment of patients with unresectable metastatic CRC. However, according to the WHO indicator, none of the cetuximab regimens could be considered as cost effective for the Iranian health care market.
Department of Pharmacoeconomics and Pharmaceutical Administration, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Majid
M
Davari
Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
Farzaneh
F
Ashrafi
Department of Statistic and Epidemiology, School of Health, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
Mohammadreza
M
Maracy
Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
Abolfazl
A
Aslani
Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacy Practice, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
Mohammadreza
M
Tabatabaei
Cetuximab; colorectal cancer; cost-effectiveness; effectiveness; kristen rat sarcoma