Costs of haematological adverse events in chronic myeloid leukaemia patients: a retrospective cost analysis of the treatment of anaemia, neutropenia and thrombocytopenia in patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia

Abstract

Objective: The study aim was to assess costs of haematological adverse events (AE) related to pharmacologic treatment of chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) patients.Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study using patient records of adults (n=91) with chronic-phase CML treated at a single university medical centre in the Netherlands. Occurrence of grade III/IV haematological AEs, defined according to CTC-NCI guidelines criteria, was derived from the laboratory registration. Mean age at time of diagnosis was 48 years; 56% male. A healthcare perspective was adopted. Cost estimates are presented in 2006 euros.Results: Average cost of an episode of anaemia was €1,572, of thrombocytopenia €2,955, and of neutropenia €1,152. The mean cost of febrile neutropenia amounted to €2,462.Conclusions: Treatment costs of AEs varied considerably. However, apart from the cost of anaemia, the results presented seem to be in line with information from the international literature. The key limitations of the study concern the relatively small cohort of patients at a single centre, the retrospective design and the various treatment regimens of CML during the follow-up.