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. 2023 Jan-Dec:30:10732748231180679.
doi: 10.1177/10732748231180679.

Cost-effectiveness of FOLFOX6+Bevacizumab Versus FOLFOX6+Cetuximab in Stage IV Colorectal Cancer Patients in Shiraz, Iran

Abdosaleh Jafari  1 , Sedighe Sadat Tabatabaei Far  2 , Mehdi Dehghani  3 , Ramin Ravangard  1
Affiliations

Cost-effectiveness of FOLFOX6+Bevacizumab Versus FOLFOX6+Cetuximab in Stage IV Colorectal Cancer Patients in Shiraz, Iran

Abdosaleh Jafari et al. Cancer Control. 2023 Jan-Dec.

Abstract

Background: Colorectal cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world, with about one million cases diagnosed annually. Various treatment methods can be used to treat colorectal cancer, including chemotherapy with different drug regimens. Considering the need to opt for more effective and less expensive drugs in the treatment of this disease, the present study aimed to compare the cost-effectiveness of FOLFOX6+Bevacizumab with FOLFOX6+Cetuximab in patients with stage IV colorectal cancer referred to medical centers in Shiraz, Iran, in 2021.

Materials and methods: Using a decision tree, the cost-effectiveness and cost-utility of the 2 drug regimens were compared in all studied patients through the census method. Having a societal perspective, this study considered direct medical costs, direct non-medical costs, and indirect costs. The effectiveness indicators included the rate of major response to the drug combination used and the Quality-adjusted Life Year (QALY). The data were analyzed using Treeage 2011 and Excel 2016 software. In order to ensure the robustness of the results, one-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed as well.

Results: The results showed that the expected costs, the effectiveness (major response rate), and the QALYs of the FOLFOX6+Bevacizumab drug regimen were $16746.13(USD), .49, and .19, respectively, and those of the FOLFOX6+Cetuximab regimen were, respectively, $15191.05 (USD), .68, and .22. Therefore, FOLFOX6+Cetuximab compared to FOLFOX6+Bevacizumab was less costly and more effective and had a greater QALY, thus being considered as the dominant option. Also, the results of the sensitivity analyses showed that there was a bit of uncertainty.

Conclusion: Considering that the FOLFOX6+Cetuximab regimen was more cost-effective, it is suggested to be prioritized in preparing clinical guidelines for Iranian colorectal cancer patients. In addition, increasing the basic and supplementary insurance coverage for this drug combination as well as the use of remote technology to guide patients by oncologists can be solutions to reduce direct and indirect costs of the patients.

Keywords: Bevacizumab; Cetuximab; FOLFOX6; colorectal cancer; cost-effectiveness.

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Conflict of interest statement

RR, AJ, and MD contributed to the idea and design. SSTF contributed to the data collection. RR, AJ, and SSTF contributed to the data analysis. All authors contributed to the manuscript writing and revision. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript.

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Decision tree in the treatment of studied stage IV colorectal cancer patients.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Results of the cost-effectiveness and cost-utility analyses. (a): Results of the cost-effectiveness analysis. (b): Results of the cost-utility analysis.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Results of the one-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses for comparing FOLFOX6+Cetuximab with FOLFOX6+Bevacizumab regimens in the studied patients.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Cost-effectiveness acceptability curves for effectiveness and QALY outcomes. (A): Cost-effectiveness acceptability curve for the effectiveness outcome. (B): Cost-effectiveness acceptability curve for the QALY outcome.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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