Societal implications of medical insurance coverage for imatinib as first-line treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia in China: a cost-effectiveness analysis

A Systematic Literature Review of the Economic Evaluations of Treatments for Patients with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

The management of chronic myeloid leukemia is associated with an extensive economic burden, and as novel interventions are being tested in this disease, understanding the comparative effectiveness is of interest. Findings and conclusions of this important issue continue to evolve with improvements in clinical research and economic understanding. This systematic literature review aims to conduct a comprehensive assessment of economic evaluations in chronic phase chronic myeloid leukemia.

METHODS

Embase^®, MEDLINE^®, and the National Health Service Economic Evaluation Database were searched on 4 July, 2022 to identify economic evaluations of chronic myeloid leukemia. Health technology assessment websites and key conference proceedings were also searched. Economic evaluations comparing treatment options in adult patients with chronic phase chronic myeloid leukemia were included. The quality of the studies were assessed using Drummond's checklists.

RESULTS

The search retrieved 47 studies and 16 health technology assessments that fulfilled the eligibility criteria. Most were cost-utility analyses (23 studies and 11 health technology assessments) and were from the USA (n = 15) and China (n = 7). Twenty-seven studies and six health technology assessments included only patients with chronic phase chronic myeloid leukemia. Most models had a Markov structure, a 1 year to lifetime time horizon, and a 1-month cycle length. Commonly assessed treatments were various tyrosine kinase inhibitors (imatinib, nilotinib, dasatinib, bosutinib, and ponatinib) and other interventions such as interferon-α, hydroxyurea, and allogeneic stem cell transplant.

CONCLUSIONS

In patients with newly diagnosed chronic myeloid leukemia, imatinib regimens were cost effective, mostly owing to the availability of generics. Nilotinib and dasatinib were generally cost effective as second-line agents for patients who were resistant or intolerant to imatinib. Though progress has been made to better characterize the cost effectiveness of first-line and second-line chronic myeloid leukemia therapies, the paucity of published cost-effectiveness studies of third-line treatments increases the uncertainty associated with economic evaluations of later lines of therapy.

Enabling access to molecular monitoring for chronic myeloid leukemia patients is cost effective in China

Objective

To determine the cost effectiveness of molecular monitoring in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia in the chronic phase (CML-CP) compared to no molecular monitoring from a Chinese payer perspective.

Methods

Analyses were conducted using a semi-Markov model with a 50-year time horizon. Population data from multicenter registry-based studies of Chinese patients with CML-CP informed the model. Transition probabilities were based on time-to-event data from the literature. Utility values were obtained from published studies and were assumed to be the same for patients with and without molecular monitoring. Costs were based on values commonly used in the Chinese healthcare system, including drug acquisition, drug administration, follow-up, treatment for disease progression, molecular monitoring, and terminal care costs, and were in the local currency (2020 Chinese Yuan RMB [¥]). Outcomes were total life-years (LYs) and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), lifetime costs, and incremental cost-effectiveness ratio.

Results

Molecular monitoring was dominant to no molecular monitoring, with increased LYs (1.52) and QALYs (1.90) and costs savings (¥93,840) over a lifetime compared to no monitoring in discounted analyses. The opportunity of patients that receive molecular monitoring to discontinue treatment during treatment-free remission, an opportunity not afforded to those without molecular monitoring, was the principle driver of this result. Results were similar across multiple clinical scenarios. Particularly, molecular monitoring remained dominant even if the proportion of patients achieving deep molecular response (DMR) was reduced by 10%-30%, or the proportion of patients maintaining DMR for 1 year was reduced by 10%-30% or increased by 10%. Cost savings in these scenarios ranged from ¥62,230 to ¥103,964.

Conclusions

Overall, this analysis demonstrates that adherence to guideline recommendations of regular molecular monitoring of patients with CML-CP treated with TKIs provides significant clinical benefit that leads to substantial cost savings compared to no molecular monitoring from the perspective of a Chinese payer. In a time where healthcare systems have limited resources to allocate to optimal patient care, investment in molecular monitoring is an ideal choice for improving patient benefits at a reduced cost.

Retroperitoneal Extragastrointestinal Stromal Tumors Have a Poor Survival Outcome: A Multicenter Observational Study

Purpose

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are commonly known to be derived from the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, but recently there have been more and more literature describing lesions with similar pathological and immunohistochemical resembling GISTs but located outside the GI tract, and they have been termed as extra-GISTs (eGISTs). However, due to the rare incidence of eGISTs, its association with survival outcomes is poorly understood, especially in the Chinese population. Here, we aimed to identify the risk factors of eGISTs and to assess their association with overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS).

Patients and Methods

Data of pathologically confirmed eGISTs cases, without radiological and perioperative evidence of other primary lesions, and with no microscopically identified adhesion between the tumor and the gastrointestinal serosa, which were surgically treated between January 2006 and September 2017 were retrieved from the database of four high-volume hospitals. Immunohistochemical and genetic testing were performed on the postoperative lesions and were staged using the National Institutes of Health (NIH) criteria.

Results

A total of 55 cases were retrieved. eGISTs were identified from the retroperitoneum (36.4%), mesocolon (25.5%), small bowel mesentery (12.7%), abdominopelvic cavity (12.7%), lesser omental sac (5.5%), ovary (3.6%), pancreatic capsule (1.8%), or urinary bladder (1.8%). Based on the NIH risk classification, majority of the lesion were classified as high risk (85.5%). KIT 11 was the most common mutation site (76.5%) and 25.0% of the cases were wild-type eGISTs. Multivariate analyses showed that tumor location and size were independent factors affecting prognoses. Patients with tumors in the retroperitoneum had significantly poorer OS and DFS as compared to those in the non-retroperitoneum (HR [95% CI] for OS and DFS: 2.546 [1.023–6.337] [P = 0.037] and 2.475 [0.975–6.273] [P = 0.049], respectively). Similar findings were found for tumors of size >15 cm, compared to ≤15 cm (HR [95% CI] for OS and DFS: 5.350 [2.022–14.156] [P < 0.001] and 3.861 [1.493–9.988] [P = 0.003], respectively).

Conclusion

eGISTs were predominantly found from the retroperitoneum and mostly classified as high risk. Those located in the retroperitoneum and of size >15 cm had the poorer OS and DFS as compared to those in the non-retroperitoneum and of size <15 cm.

Cost-effectiveness of kinase inhibitors for hematologic malignancies: a systematic and critical review

INTRODUCTION

Several genetic disruptions lead to constitutive activation of those kinases leukemic cells depend on for survival and proliferation. Kinase inhibitors (KI) are major therapeutic innovations for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), chronic lymphoid leukemia (CLL) and myelofibrosis (MF) providing a relevant improvement of quality-adjusted survival in patients with high-risk or refractory disease. CML patients are being treated with first-generation KI imatinib since many years, achieving expected survivals longer than 10 years. Second- and third generations KIs, such as nilotinib, dasatinib, ponatinib and bosutinib, recently expanded the therapeutic yield for CML and treatment discontinuation in patients with persistent deep molecular response is being pursued. Areas covered: This review summarizes available evidence on economic analyses of KI treatments for CML, CLL and MF aimed at identifying the key determinants of KI cost-effectiveness. Expert commentary: On converse, specific KIs for CLL and MF patients have been marketed only in the last few years. Ibrutinib and idelalisib allowed to improve the outcomes of relapsed/refractory CLL and of patients with poor genetic features, while the first-in-class JAK2 inhibitor ruxolitinib allowed to improve symptoms of advanced MF patients and to prolong survival in responders. In the current situation of healthcare budget restrictions worldwide, the value for cost of the above KIs has been questioned.