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Cost Utility of Chemotherapy and Best Supportive Care in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

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Summary

Polychemotherapy is the therapeutic option recommended for nonresectable, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, the modest gains in survival, and the frequent and often serious adverse effects, associated with chemotherapy should also be considered when deciding on therapy. We therefore performed a cost-utility analysis of chemotherapy and best supportive care in NSCLC. Effectiveness and costs were analysed on 70 patients who were randomised to receive one of 3 treatments: VP (vindesine and cisplatin), CAP (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin and cisplatin), or best supportive care. Subsequently, an assessment of the value of polychemotherapy and best supportive care was performed by oncology personnel using the time trade-off technique. Polychemotherapy was found to be more effective than best supportive care, but was also more costly and had a lower value score. Because of its cost utility and its higher value, best supportive care should not be discarded as an alternative for the treatment of NSCLC.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Groupe de Recherche Interdisciplinaire en Santé, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada

    Wendy Kennedy, Daniel Reinharz, Geneviève Tessier, André-Pierre Contandriopoulos, Isabelle Trabut & François Champagne

  2. Division d’Oncologie, Hôpital Notre-Dame, Montréal, Québec, Canada

    Joseph Ayoub

  3. Marion Merrell Dow Canada Research Inc., Laval, Québec, Canada

    Geneviève Tessier

Authors
  1. Wendy Kennedy
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  2. Daniel Reinharz
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  3. Geneviève Tessier
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  4. André-Pierre Contandriopoulos
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  5. Isabelle Trabut
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  6. François Champagne
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  7. Joseph Ayoub
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Kennedy, W., Reinharz, D., Tessier, G. et al. Cost Utility of Chemotherapy and Best Supportive Care in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. Pharmacoeconomics 8, 316–323 (1995). https://doi.org/10.2165/00019053-199508040-00006

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.2165/00019053-199508040-00006

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