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Observational Study
. 2017 May;143(5):783-791.
doi: 10.1007/s00432-016-2326-x. Epub 2017 Feb 18.

Economic burden of patients affected by non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC): the LIFE study

Maria Rita Migliorino  1 , Antonio Santo  2 , Giampiero Romano  3 , Diego Cortinovis  4 , Domenico Galetta  5 , Oscar Alabiso  6 , Giacomo Cartenì  7 , Sabrina Vari  8 , Gianpiero Fasola  9 , Antonio Pazzola  10 , Dario Giuffrida  11 , Alberto Zaniboni  12 , Alberto Caprioli  13 , Flavia Longo  14 , Valentina Acciai  15 , Filippo de Marinis  16
Affiliations
Observational Study

Economic burden of patients affected by non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC): the LIFE study

Maria Rita Migliorino et al. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol. 2017 May.

Abstract

Purpose: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a condition with significant clinical burden for patients and relevant economic impact. Limited evidence exists on the management costs of NSCLC patients, especially in the late phases of the disease. The main objective of this analysis was to evaluate the economic impact of clinical management of NSCLC patients in the Italian population.

Methods: This evaluation was an economic analysis of the observational and multicentre study LIFE, which described the therapeutic approach in routine clinical practice for NSCLC patients, progressing after first-line treatment. This study evaluated resource consumption in different Italian hospitals, including specialist visits, hospitalizations, accesses to first aid, pharmacological treatment, laboratory tests and palliative care. The National Healthcare Service perspective was adopted.

Results: In this study, N = 191 patients enrolled in the LIFE study were included. Patients were aged 64.2 years and were predominantly males (66%). In the different line of treatments, monthly costs of patients ranged between €1471 (first line) and €1788 (third line). The overall healthcare cost over the average period of observation (16.4 months) was €25,859 per patient. Overall, oncology therapy was the cost driver, although the composition of medical costs changed across the different lines of treatment, with costs for concomitant medication and palliative care being predominant in late phase of the disease.

Conclusions: The economic burden of NSCLC is extremely high during the overall period of treatment, and a significant level of care is required in each stage of the disease.

Keywords: Cost per line of treatment; Economic burden; Line of treatment; Non-small cell lung cancer; Observational study.

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Conflict of interest statement

All the authors declare no conflicts of interest. Boehringer Ingelheim provided funding for the editorial support of this article.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Cost per patient/month, by line of treatment, and relative duration of treatment (n = 191)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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