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The cost of antiemetic therapy for chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in patients receiving platinum-containing regimens in daily practice in Japan: a retrospective study

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Abstract

Purpose

The objective of this study was to estimate the cost of antiemetic therapy for chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) in daily practice in Japan.

Methods

This was a retrospective observational study using medical records. Eligible patients were those with bladder or testicular cancer receiving platinum-containing highly emetogenic chemotherapy. The incidence of CINV on days 1–5 in single-day chemotherapy and on days 1–9 in multiple-day chemotherapy, and the costs of antiemetic therapy directly associated with the administration of antiemetics were estimated. The analysis of costs was performed from a hospital perspective.

Results

A total of 54 patients or 169 chemotherapy courses were included. In all chemotherapy courses 5-HT3 receptor antagonists were used on the day(s) that platinum-containing agents were administered and frequently used on subsequent days. In contrast, the use of corticosteroids was infrequent. Acute CINV in single-day chemotherapy was well controlled, but the incidences of delayed CINV in single-day chemotherapy and CINV in multiple-day chemotherapy were relatively high. The costs for antiemetic therapy were $484.65 in courses with CINV and $318.56 in courses without CINV, and the difference was approximately $170 per chemotherapy course, which was considered to be mainly imputable to the prevalence of CINV.

Conclusions

The cost of antiemetic therapy for CINV is substantial in Japan as well as in other countries, and it is suggested that the onset of CINV is a possible cost driver. The improvements in antiemetic therapy may contribute not only to improved patient well-being but also to a reduction of economic burden.

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Abbreviations

CINV:

Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting

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Acknowledgments

This study was partly supported by a grant from Pfizer Health Research Foundation (2009).

Conflict of interest

No conflict of interest is declared.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacoepidemiology, Graduate School of Medicine and Public Health, Kyoto University, Yoshidakonoecho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan, 606-8501

    Shota Hamada, Shiro Hinotsu & Koji Kawakami

  2. Cancer Education and Research Center, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan

    Katsuhito Hori

  3. Department of Urology, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan

    Hiroshi Furuse & Seiichiro Ozono

  4. Department of Urology, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan

    Takehiro Oikawa

  5. Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

    Hideyuki Akaza

  6. Department of Hospital Pharmacy, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan

    Junichi Kawakami

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  1. Shota Hamada
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  2. Shiro Hinotsu
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  4. Hiroshi Furuse
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  5. Takehiro Oikawa
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  7. Seiichiro Ozono
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  8. Hideyuki Akaza
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  9. Koji Kawakami
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Koji Kawakami.

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Hamada, S., Hinotsu, S., Hori, K. et al. The cost of antiemetic therapy for chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in patients receiving platinum-containing regimens in daily practice in Japan: a retrospective study. Support Care Cancer 20, 813–820 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-011-1155-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-011-1155-3

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