Direct healthcare costs of non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer in Italy.

OBJECTIVES: The management of non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (nmCRPC) is rapidly evolving; however, little is known about the direct healthcare costs of nmCRPC. We aimed to estimate the cost-of-illness (COI) of nmCRPC from the Italian National Health Service perspective. METHODS: Structured, individual qualitative interviews were carried out with clinical experts to identify what healthcare resources are consumed in clinical practice. To collect quantitative estimates of healthcare resource consumption, a structured expert elicitation was performed with clinical experts using a modified version of a previously validated interactive Excel-based tool, EXPLICIT (EXPert eLICItation Tool). For each parameter, experts were asked to provide the lowest, highest, and most likely value. Deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses (PSA) were carried out to test the robustness of the results. RESULTS: Ten clinical experts were interviewed, and six of them participated in the expert elicitation exercise. According to the most likely estimate, the yearly cost per nmCRPC patient is €4,710 (range, €2,243 to €8,243). Diagnostic imaging (i.e., number/type of PET scans performed) had the highest impact on cost. The PSA showed a 50 percent chance for the yearly cost per nmCRPC patient to be within €5,048 using a triangular distribution for parameters, and similar results were found using a beta-PERT distribution. CONCLUSIONS: This study estimated the direct healthcare costs of nmCRPC in Italy based on a mixed-methods approach. Delaying metastases may be a reasonable goal also from an economic standpoint. These findings can inform decision-making about treatments at the juncture between non-metastatic and metastatic prostate cancer disease.

Incremental cost-effectiveness of screening and laser treatment for diabetic retinopathy and macular edema in Malawi.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the economic impact of introducing targeted screening and laser photocoagulation treatment for sight-threatening diabetic retinopathy and macular edema in a setting with no previous screening or laser treatment for diabetic retinopathy in sub-Saharan Africa. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cohort Markov model was built to compare combined targeted screening and laser treatment for patients with sight-threatening diabetic retinopathy and macular edema against no intervention. Primary outcomes were incremental cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained and per disability-adjusted life year (DALY) averted. Primary data were collected on 357 participants from the Malawi Diabetic Retinopathy Study, a prospective, observational cohort study. Multiple scenarios were explored and a probabilistic sensitivity analysis was performed. RESULTS: In the base case (age: 50 years, service utilization rate: 80%), the cost of the intervention and the years of severe visual impairment averted per patient screened were $209 and 2.2 years respectively. Applying the World Health Organization threshold of cost-effectiveness for Malawi ($679), the base case was cost-effective when QALYs were used ($400 per QALY gained) but not when DALYs were used ($766 per DALY averted). The intervention was more cost-effective when it targeted younger patients (age: 30 years) and less cost-effective when the utilization rate was lowered to 50%. CONCLUSIONS: Annual photographic screening of diabetic patients attending medical diabetes clinics in Malawi, with the provision of laser treatment for those with sight-threatening diabetic retinopathy and macular edema, appears to be cost-effective in terms of QALYs gained, in our base case scenario. Cost-effectiveness improves if services are utilized more intensively and extended to younger patients.