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Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Sunitinib versus Interferon-Alfa for First-Line Treatment of Advanced and/or Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma in Singapore

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 March 2019

Sil-ling Pruis
Affiliation:
Agency for Care Effectiveness, Ministry of Health, Singapore
Mohamed Ismail Abdul Aziz
Affiliation:
Agency for Care Effectiveness, Ministry of Health, Singapore
Fiona Pearce
Affiliation:
Agency for Care Effectiveness, Ministry of Health, Singapore
Min Han Tan
Affiliation:
Division of Medical Oncology Singapore, Singapore
David Bin-Chia Wu
Affiliation:
Agency for Care Effectiveness, Ministry of Health, Singapore
Kwong Ng*
Affiliation:
Agency for Care Effectiveness, Ministry of Health, Singapore
*
Author for correspondence: Kwong Ng, E-mail: ng_kwong_hoe@moh.gov.sg
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Abstract

Objectives

This study was conducted to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of sunitinib versus interferon-alfa for the treatment of advanced and/or metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in Singapore.

Methods

A partitioned survival model with three health states (progression-free, progressive disease, and death) was developed from a healthcare payer perspective over a 10-year time horizon. Survival curves from the pivotal trial of sunitinib versus interferon-alfa were extrapolated beyond the trial period to estimate the underlying progression-free survival and overall survival parametric distributions. Health state utilities were derived from the literature and direct costs were sourced from local public healthcare institutions. The sunitinib dose in the model reflected local prescribing practices whereby a combination of 50 mg (28 percent) and 37.5 mg (72 percent) strengths are used.

Results

The base-case analysis comparing sunitinib versus interferon-alfa resulted in an incremental cost effectiveness ratio (ICER) of SGD191,061 (USD139,757) per quality-adjusted life-year gained. Sensitivity analysis demonstrated that the ICER was most sensitive to variations in the utility value assumed for the progression-free health state and the price of sunitinib.

Conclusions

In the absence of any price reduction, sunitinib had an exceedingly high ICER and was not considered a cost-effective use of healthcare resources in Singapore's context for the first-line treatment of advanced RCC. The findings from our evaluation will be useful to inform local healthcare decision making and resource allocations for tyrosine kinase inhibitors when appraised alongside comparative clinical effectiveness data and payer affordability considerations.

Information

Type
Assessment
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019
Figure 0

Figure 1. Partitioned survival model with three health states.

Figure 1

Table 1. Model Inputs (Base-Case)

Figure 2

Table 2. Summary of Costs and Benefits of Sunitinib versus Interferon-Alfa, Base-Case Analysis

Figure 3

Figure 2. OWSA tornado diagram for sunitinib versus interferon-alfa. QALY, quality-adjusted life-year; TKI, tyrosine kinase inhibitor; OS, overall survival; IFN, interferon-alfa; PFS, progression-free survival.

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