Durvalumab Plus Chemotherapy Not Cost-Effective for First-Line Treatment of Extensive-Stage SCLC
Findings from a recent study revealed durvalumab plus chemotherapy isnot be a cost-effective first-line treatment option for patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC; J Natl Compr Canc Netw. 2021; jnccn20454. doi:10.6004/jnccn.2020.7796).
The CASPIAN trial demonstrated positive results in overall survival for patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer who were treated with durvalumab plus chemotherapy, however, cost-effectiveness was not observed.
Dong Ding, MM, Department of Oncology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, and colleagues constructed a comprehensive Markov model in order to compare the cost and effectiveness of durvalumab plus chemotherapy vs platinum/etoposide alone in the first-line therapy of extensive-stage SCLC from the US healthcare system perspective.
The Markov model used data from the CASPIAN trial. Total costs, life years, quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) were examined.
The model revealed an additional 0.27 life years and 0.20 QALYs associated with durvalumab plus chemotherapy over the chemotherapy treatment. Durvalumab + chemotherapy therapy resulted in an ICER of $464,711.90 per QALY.
“Durvalumab in combination with platinum/etoposide is not a cost-effective option in the first-line treatment of patients with extensive-stage SCLC,” Mr Ding and colleagues concluded.—Marta Rybczynski
