Modelling For Cost-Effectiveness Of Hormone Therapy

Cost-effectiveness assessment has become a fundamental step in clinical decision-making even in the treatment of advanced cancer conditions.

In advanced prostate cancer testosterone provides cancer cells with an essential growth stimulus, and thus hormonal treatments, especially the class of so-called LHRH-agonist, historically aimed at lowering testosterone levels.

Whether or not a defined threshold should be achieved to get the benefits of the treatment is an issue under considerable debate but the concept that "the lower the better" has started taking place among the scientific community. A recent study "Cost-effectiveness analysis of LHRH-agonists in the treatment of metastatic prostate cancer in ITALY" explored the cost-effectiveness side of this concept through a simulation model based on survival data from real patients. The study, published in Value in Health, was conducted by the researchers of AdRes HE&OR, in collaboration with Dr. Massimo Perachino, urologist at the "S. Spirito" Hospital in Casale Monferrato, Italy, where the data on patients were prospectively collected.

Says Dr. Sergio Iannazzo, CEO of AdRes: "We collected data from clinical trials of LHRH-agonists to create a meta-analysis on their effect on testosterone levels, and then applied this into our model to simulate patients' survival. The interesting finding was that the four LHRH-agonists tested demonstrated different cost-effectiveness profiles, and we believe that, even though further studies are surely needed, this can help making more informed choices".

Value in Health publishes papers, concepts, and ideas that advance the field of pharmacoeconomics and outcomes research and help health care leaders to make decisions that are solidly evidence-based. The journal is published bi-monthly and has a regular readership of over 5,000 clinicians, decision-makers, and researchers worldwide.

Source:
ISPOR