Cost burden of first-line antineoplastic treatment failure in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Abstract

e19037 Background: Treatment failure (TF) is associated with significant cost burden in patients with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) in the US. This study assessed treatment patterns and healthcare cost burden of first-line (FL) TF in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), a subtype of NHL, overall, and for the top 5 FL regimens. Methods: A retrospective study of a large national claims database identified adult patients with CLL who initiated an antineoplastic agent (AA) after their first CLL diagnosis (index date) from 01/2011- 07/2016. Patients included had ≥12 and ≥6 months of observation pre- and post-index, respectively, and were treatment-naïve with no solid or selected blood malignancies in the pre-index period. FL therapy included AA administered within the first 30 days post-index. TF occurred at the earliest of: initiation of a new AA, resumption of initial treatment following a gap of ≥3 months, radiotherapy, stem cell transplant, or hospice care. The total cost difference between patients with and without FL TF was estimated using ordinary least squares regressions adjusted for baseline characteristics. Non-parametric bootstrap was used to estimate confidence intervals (CI) and p-values. Results: Among the 2,226 patients included (mean age: 68 years; female: 41%), 46% experienced FL TF. Overall, the average adjusted total cost difference between patients with and without FL TF was $3,011 per patient per month (PPPM) (95% CI: 2,400, 3,583; P < 0.001). Among the 5 most common FL regimens, fludarabine / cyclophosphamide / rituximab (FCR) regimen was associated with the highest PPPM cost of TF (N = 281; $4,758; 95% CI: 2,652, 7,346), followed by other cyclophosphamide-based regimens (N = 142; $4,579; 95% CI: 2,474, 6,311), chlorambucil-based regimens (N = 223; $3,761; 95% CI: 2,029, 5,602), bendamustine / rituximab (BR) regimen (N = 592; $3,163; 95% CI: 2,206, 4,148), and other rituximab-based regimens (N = 474; $3,030; 95% CI: 2,164, 3,956) (P < 0.001 for all). Conclusions: The most common FL regimens used in patients with CLL were associated with 46% treatment failure. Clinicians should consider the cost of treatment failure when selecting the initial therapy in these patients.