New Colon Cancer Findings from University of Texas Health Science Center Reported (Cost-Effectiveness of Treatment Sequences of Chemotherapies and…

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New Colon Cancer Findings from University of Texas Health Science Center Reported (Cost-Effectiveness of Treatment Sequences of Chemotherapies and Targeted Biologics for Elderly Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Patients)

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Weekly News -- Current study results on Oncology - Colon Cancer have been published. According to news reporting originating in Houston, Texas, by VerticalNews journalists, research stated, "Treatment patterns for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients have changed considerably over the last decade with the introduction of new chemotherapies and targeted biologics. These treatments are often administered in various sequences with limited evidence regarding their cost-effectiveness."

The news reporters obtained a quote from the research from the University of Texas Health Science Center, "To conduct a pharmacoeconomic evaluation of commonly administered treatment sequences among elderly mCRC patients. A probabilistic discrete event simulation model assuming Weibull distribution was developed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the following common treatment sequences: (a) first-line oxaliplatin/irinotecan followed by second-line oxaliplatin/irinotecan + bevacizumab (OI-OIB); (b) first-line oxaliplatin/irinotecan + bevacizumab followed by second-line oxaliplatin/irinotecan + bevacizumab (OIB-OIB); © OI-OIB followed by a third-line targeted biologic (OI-OIB-TB); and (d) OIB-OIB followed by a third-line targeted biologic (OIB-OIB-TB). Input parameters for the model were primarily obtained from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results-Medicare linked dataset for incident mCRC patients aged 65 years and older diagnosed from January 2004 through December 2009. A probabilistic sensitivity analysis was performed to account for parameter uncertainty. Costs (2014 U.S. dollars) and effectiveness were discounted at an annual rate of 3%. In the base case analyses, at the willingness-to-pay (WTP) threshold of $100,000/quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) gained, the treatment sequence OIB-OIB (vs. OI-OIB) was not cost-effective with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) per patient of $119,007/QALY; OI-OIB-TB (vs. OIB-OIB) was dominated; and OIB-OIB-TB (vs. OIB-OIB) was not cost-effective with an ICER of $405,857/QALY. Results similar to the base case analysis were obtained assuming log-normal distribution. Cost-effectiveness acceptability curves derived from a probabilistic sensitivity analysis showed that at a WTP of $100,000/QALY gained, sequence OI-OIB was 34% cost-effective, followed by OIB-OIB (31%), OI-OIB-TB (20%), and OIB-OIB-TB (15%). Overall, survival increases marginally with the addition of targeted biologics, such as bevacizumab, at first line and third line at substantial costs. Treatment sequences with bevacizumab at first line and targeted biologics at third line may not be cost-effective at the commonly used threshold of $100,000/QALY gained, but a marginal decrease in the cost of bevacizumab may make treatment sequences with first-line bevacizumab cost-effective."

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: "Future economic evaluations should validate the study results using parameters from ongoing clinical trials."

For more information on this research see: Cost-Effectiveness of Treatment Sequences of Chemotherapies and Targeted Biologics for Elderly Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Patients. Journal of Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy, 2017;23(1):64-73. Journal of Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy can be contacted at: Acad Managed Care Pharmacy, 100 N Pitt St, 400, Alexandria, VA 22314-3134, USA.

Our news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained by contacting R.C. Parikh, Univ Texas Hlth Sci Center Houston, Sch Public Hlth, Div Management Policy & Community Hlth, Houston, TX 77030, United States. Additional authors for this research include X.L.L. Du, M.O. Robert and D.R. Lairson.

Keywords for this news article include: Houston, Texas, United States, North and Central America, Antineoplastic Monoclonal Antibodies, Genetically-Engineered Proteins, Radiation-Sensitizing Agents, Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors, VEGF - VEGFR Inhibitors, Cancer, Epidemiology, Colorectal Research, Genetic Engineering, Drugs and Therapies, Parasympathomimetic, Oxaliplatin Therapy, Irinotecan Therapy, Enzyme Inhibitors, Alkylating Agents, Gastroenterology, VEGFR Inhibitors, Antineoplastics, Pharmaceuticals, Bioengineering, Biotechnology, Chemotherapy, Colon Cancer, Bevacizumab, Biologics, Oncology, Prodrug, University of Texas Health Science Center.