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. 2016 Aug 2:8:397-406.
doi: 10.2147/CEOR.S91844. eCollection 2016.

Cost-effectiveness of primary debulking surgery when compared to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in the management of stage IIIC and IV epithelial ovarian cancer

Gareth K Forde  1 , Jenny Chang  2 , Argyrios Ziogas  2
Affiliations

Cost-effectiveness of primary debulking surgery when compared to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in the management of stage IIIC and IV epithelial ovarian cancer

Gareth K Forde et al. Clinicoecon Outcomes Res. .

Abstract

Objectives: To examine the cost-effectiveness of primary debulking surgery (PDS) when compared to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) in the management of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) using Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results data linked to Medicare claims (SEER-Medicare).

Methods: Using a Markov model, the cost-effectiveness of PDS was compared to that of NACT. We modeled cost and survival inputs using data from women in the SEER-Medicare database with ovarian cancer treated by either PDS or NACT between 1992 and 2009. Direct and indirect costs were discounted by an annual rate of 3%. Utility weights were obtained from published data. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of PDS compared to NACT was calculated.

Results: In our model, women with stage IIIC EOC had a higher mean adjusted treatment cost for PDS when compared to NACT ($31,945 vs $30,016) but yielded greater quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) (1.79 vs 1.69). The ICER was $19,359/QALY gained. Women with stage IV EOC had a higher mean adjusted treatment cost following PDS when compared to NACT ($31,869 vs $27,338) but yielded greater QALYs (1.69 vs 1.66). The ICER was $130,083/QALY gained. A sensitivity analysis showed that for both PDS and NACT the ICER was sensitive to incremental changes in the utility weight.

Conclusion: PDS is significantly more cost-effective for women with stage IIIC when compared to NACT. In women with stage IV EOC, PDS is also more cost-effective though the QALYs gained are much more costly and exceed a $50,000 willingness to pay.

Keywords: Markov model; chemotherapy; gynecologic cancer; up front surgery.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Kaplan–Meier survival curves for each treatment strategy. Abbreviations: NACT, neoadjuvant chemotherapy; PDS, primary debulking surgery.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Univariate sensitivity analysis for the impact of the utility weight of NACT on the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio for women with stage IIIC ovarian cancer. Abbreviations: NACT, neoadjuvant chemotherapy; PDS, primary debulking surgery.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Univariate sensitivity analysis for the impact of the utility weight of PDS on the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio for women with stage IV ovarian cancer. Abbreviations: NACT, neoadjuvant chemotherapy; PDS, primary debulking surgery.
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