Chemotherapy administration: modelling the costs of alternative protocols

The cost of chemotherapy administration: a systematic review and meta-analysis

PURPOSE

Cancer treatment is a significant driver of healthcare costs worldwide, however, the economic impact of treating patients with anti-neoplastic agents is poorly elucidated. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to estimate the direct costs associated with administering intravenous chemotherapy in an outpatient setting.

METHODS

We systematically searched four databases from 2010 to present and extracted hourly administration costs and the respective components of each estimate. Separate analyses were conducted of Canadian and United States (US) studies, respectively, to address a priori hypotheses regarding heterogeneity amongst estimates. The Drummond checklist was used to assess risk-of-bias. Data were summarized using medians with interquartile ranges and five outliers were identified; costs were presented in 2019 USD.

RESULTS

Forty-four studies were analyzed, including sub-analyses of 19 US and seven Canadian studies. 26/44 studies were of moderate-high quality. When components of administration cost were evaluated, physician costs were reported most frequently (24 studies), followed by lab tests (13) and overhead costs (9). The median estimate (excluding outliers) was $142/hour (IQR = $103-166). The median administration cost in the US was $149/hour (IQR = $118-158), and was $128/hour (IQR = $102-137) in Canada.

CONCLUSIONS

There is currently a paucity of literature addressing the costs of chemotherapy administration, and existing studies utilize a patchwork of reporting methodologies which renders direct comparison challenging. Our results demonstrate that the cost of administering chemotherapy is approximately $125-150/hour, globally. This value is dependent upon the region of analysis, inclusiveness of cost subcomponents as well as the methodology used to estimate unit prices, as described here.

Management of locally advanced and metastatic breast cancer: guidelines, infrastructures and low resource settings

Breast cancer incidence is rising and it accounts for over 1.6 million cases per year worldwide. It represents about one-third of female cancers and is a significant health issue in countries at all economic levels. In this article, we review global cancer statistics, breast cancer staging including late-stage presentation in limited resource settings, disparities in the breast cancer outcomes and requirements for optimal management, including infrastructure needs for optimal surgery, radiation treatment and systemic therapy. We will discuss controversies related to drug pricing and availability, process and delays in registration of new drugs as well as resource stratification and resource-stratified guidelines for locally advanced breast cancer and metastatic breast cancer.