Antineoplastic prescription among patients with colorectal cancer in eight major cities of China, 2015–2019: an observational retrospective database analysis

Abstract

ObjectivesIt is unclear what is driving rising colorectal cancer (CRC) treatment costs in China, whether an adjustment in drug prices changes use and total cost. This study aims to estimate trends in drug use, prescribing patterns and spending for antineoplastic drug therapies for CRC in major cities of China.MethodsInformation from 128 811 antineoplastic drug prescriptions in CRC was retrospectively collected from the Hospital Prescription Analysis Cooperative Project. The prescriptions extracted included demographic information of patients, the generic name and the price of antineoplastic drugs. The Mann-Kendall and Cochran-Armitage trend test was used to estimate the trends of antineoplastic agent usage.ResultsThe number of antineoplastic prescriptions ranged from 18 966 in 2015 to 34 219 in 2019. Among the prescriptions collected in this study, the annual cost of antineoplastic drugs increased by 117.2%, and average prescription cost increased by 20%. Throughout the study period, the most prescribed antineoplastic drugs were capecitabine, oxaliplatin, fluorouracil and irinotecan, representing 49%, 27%, 21% and 9% of (per cent of visits (PV)). The PV of bevacizumab and cetuximab increased by 494% and 338% (from 1.8% and 1.3% in 2015 to 10.7% and 5.7% in 2019). In prescribing patterns of antineoplastic agents, monotherapy gradually decreased, while combination therapy, especially three-drug combination, increased significantly from 1.35% to 7.31%.ConclusionThis study estimated recent trends of antineoplastic drug use and expenditure for Chinese patients with CRC. These results would inform CRC treatment decisions, including health insurance negotiation, precision therapy access, allocation of research funding and evaluation of the financial burden of CRC drug treatment.

Retrospective analysis of real‐world prescribing data for managing cisplatin‐based chemotherapy‐induced nausea and vomiting in China

“…The data were obtained from the Hospital Prescription Analysis Cooperative Project (HPACP), which is endorsed by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association. The HPACP database, established in 1997, regularly collects prescription data from participating hospitals on 10 randomly working days each quarter 20 …”

Trends in antineoplastic drug use, cost and prescribing patterns among patients with lung cancer in nine major cities of China, 2016–2020: a retrospective observational study based on inpatient and outpatient hospital data

“…The programme randomly selected 10-day prescription data from each hospital each quarter 19. The patient’s several hospital admissions or visits were documented as independent of information 20. In China, this database was frequently used for pharmacoepidemiological investigations 20–23.…”

“…19 The patient's several hospital admissions or visits were documented as independent of information. 20 In China, this database was frequently used for pharmacoepidemiological investigations. [20][21][22][23] In this study, prescription data were collected from 97 hospitals in 9 major cities of China.…”

“…20 In China, this database was frequently used for pharmacoepidemiological investigations. [20][21][22][23] In this study, prescription data were collected from 97 hospitals in 9 major cities of China.…”

Cardiotoxicity of antineoplastic therapy: Underlying mechanisms, clinical manifestations, and basic principles of cardio-oncology

“…Targeted therapy with monoclonal antibodies (MABs), as well as with small molecules administered orally, such as tyrosine kinase inhibitors, often involves continuous treatment until disease progression [6]. Tables 1, 2, 3 and 4 list the most important groups of antineoplastic drugs, according to the World Health Organization classification (available at: https:// www.whocc.no/atc_ddd_index/), and their mechanisms of action [7][8][9][10][11]. The contemporary approach to the treatment of patients with malignant diseases, in addition to personalized innovative therapy that significantly contributes to its success, but also to the shortening of hospital treatment, also includes careful outpatient monitoring of hemato-oncology patients, in order to prevent, timely diagnose and adequately treat immediate and delayed side effects of antineoplastic treatment.…”