Canadian bean counters find one year of herceptin cost effective

[Lani]

All you fine ladies could have told them that!

Oncologist. 2012 Feb 2. [Epub ahead of print]
Assessing the Real-World Cost-Effectiveness of Adjuvant Trastuzumab in HER-2/neu Positive Breast Cancer.
Hedden L, O'Reilly S, Lohrisch C, Chia S, Speers C, Kovacic L, Taylor S, Peacock S.
Source
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada;
Abstract
AbstractBackground. Among women with surgically removed, high-risk HER-2/neu-positive breast cancer, trastuzumab has demonstrated significant improvements in disease-free and overall survival. The objective of this study is to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the currently recommended 12-month adjuvant protocol of trastuzumab using a Markov modeling approach and real-world cost data.Methods. A 10-health-state Markov model tracked patients' quarterly transitions between health states in the local and advanced states of breast cancer. Clinical data were obtained from the joint analysis of the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project and North Central Cancer Treatment Group, as well as from the metastatic study conducted by Norum et al. Clinical outcomes were adjusted for quality of life using utility estimates published in a systematic review. Real cost data were obtained from the British Columbia Cancer Agency and were evaluated from a payer perspective. Costs and utilities were discounted at 5% per year, respectively, for a 28-year time horizon.Results. In the base case analysis, treatment with a 12-month adjuvant trastuzumab regimen resulted in a gain of 1.38 quality-adjusted life years or 1.17 life years gained at a cost of $18,133 per patient. Thus, the cost per QALY gained for the base case is $13,095. Cost per LYG is $15,492.Conclusions. Over the long term, treatment of HER-2/neu mutation positive breast cancer with a 12-month protocol of trastuzumab in the adjuvant setting is predicted to be cost-effective in a Canadian context.
PMID: 22302231 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

[Rich66]

This couldn't have been extrapolated from their Southern neighbors or ___?
Someone needs to do a cost effectiveness evaluation of cost effectiveness evaluation...

[PinkGirl]

I think you're onto something Rich. The first clue is that we don't count beans, we count hockey pucks ... should have been obvious to everyone

[caya]

LOL Pink - yes, that's what we do up here, count those pucks!!

all the best
caya