Findings based on its use as third-line treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer
MONDAY, Sept. 21, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Given its high cost, regorafenib provides little added benefit as a third-line treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer, according to a study published online Aug. 24 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Daniel A. Goldstein, M.D., from Emory University in Atlanta, and colleagues developed a Markov model to compare the cost-effectiveness of regorafenib with that of a placebo in the third-line treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer. Medicare 2014 reimbursement rates were used to assess drug costs.
The researchers found that regorafenib provided an additional 0.04 quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) (0.13 life-years) at a cost of $40,000, resulting in an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of $900,000 per QALY. In univariable and probabilistic sensitivity analyses, the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio for regorafenib was >$550,000 per QALY.
“Regorafenib provides minimal incremental benefit at high incremental cost per QALY in the third-line management of metastatic colorectal cancer,” the authors write.
Several authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.
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