Is erlotinib for first-line use in EGFR+ non-small-cell lung cancer cost-effective?

Abstract

e19001 Background: A recent phase III clinical trial, EURTAC, demonstrated that first-line treatment with erlotinib significantly improved progression-free survival (PFS) compared with standard chemotherapy in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients whose tumors harbored epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations (Rosell 2012). We sought to estimate the cost-utility of treatment with erlotinib in this patient population from the US payer perspective. Methods: We developed a Markov model with three health states: PFS, progression, and death. Patients received treatment until progression, unacceptable toxicity or death; patients randomized to chemotherapy received a maximum of 4 treatment cycles. Transition probabilities were extrapolated from the trial. Median PFS was 9.7 months in patients receiving erlotinib and 5.2 months in patients receiving chemotherapy (p<0.0001). Cost and utility data were obtained from the literature. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis (PSA) was performed to assess uncertainty. We evaluated two scenarios: 1) first-line erlotinib vs. first-line chemotherapy, and 2) first-line erlotinib and mixed second-line treatments vs. first-line chemotherapy and second-line erlotinib. Results: First-line treatment with erlotinib vs. chemotherapy resulted in an increase of 0.60 life-years or 0.44 quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs). Mean total costs were $59,300 in the erlotinib arm and $17,800 in the chemotherapy arm, yielding an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of $98,338 with a 53% probability of being cost-effective at a willingness to pay (WTP) of $100,000/QALY. In the second scenario, the ICER was $50,002/QALY, with a 66% probability of being cost-effective. The main cost drivers in the model were the time spent in the PFS health state and drug costs. Conclusions: Treatment with erlotinib in first-line EGFR-positive NSCLC results in increased costs but also substantial increases in QALYs, demonstrating that this personalized approached to treatment may be cost-effective.