The Direct Costs Burden of Bevacizumab in South-West Romania

Abstract

As costs for cancer treatment increase with the reimbursement of new treatments and increasing of patients' number, prevention and prior detection efforts become even more cost-effective and potentially cost saving. The global economic burden of cancer is mostly unknown. Even though bevacizumab is one of the most prescribed and used angiogenesis inhibitors, it is among the most expensive drugs. This study aimed to generate statistical analyses of the total amounts reimbursed by the Romanian National Health Insurance Fund for treating cancer with Avastin ® in Dolj County, Romania, from January 1 st , 2020 to March 31 st , 2021. We aimed to estimate the real-world incremental costs associated with the use of bevacizumab for metastatic breast cancer, advanced non-small cell lung cancer, metastatic cancer of the colon or rectum, ovarian cancer, advanced renal cell cancer, and cervical cancer. From the total of 351 patients treated with bevacizumab, 114 (31.67%) had colon cancer and 69 (19.17%) had rectum cancer. After we investigated the economic burden of bevacizumab, we observed the highest percentage for the malignant tumour of the colon from all the direct costs. We compared the costs of bevacizumab treatment on diseases and months, observing the highest burden for colon cancer in almost all the months. Molecules such as bevacizumab are adding an appreciable cost burden to the public funded Health Care System and more studies that evaluate their cost-effectiveness are needed. RezumatPe măsură ce costurile tratamentelor pentru cancer cresc, eforturile de prevenție și depistare precoce devin cost-eficiente și pot reduce costurile. Povara economică globală a cancerului este în mare parte necunoscută. Cu toate că bevacizumab este unul dintre cei mai prescriși și utilizați inhibitori ai angiogenezei, el este și printre cele mai scumpe medicamente. Scopul studiului a fost generarea de analize statistice ale sumelor rambursate de Fondul Național de Asigurări de Sănătate pentru tratarea cancerului cu Avastin ® în județul Dolj, România, de la 1 martie 2020 până la 31 martie 2021. Am realizat o analiză economică pentru a estima costurile incrementale asociate administrării de bevacizumab pentru cancer de sân metastatic, de colon sau rect, cancer pulmonar avansat fără celule mici, cancer avansat renal, ovarian și de col uterin. Dintre cei 351 de pacienți tratați cu bevacizumab, 114 (31,67%) au prezentat cancer de colon și 69 (19,17%) cancer de rect. Investigând povara economică prezentată de bevacizumab, am observat că procentul cel mai mare al costurilor directe a fost pentru cancerul de colon. Am comparat costurile tratamentului cu bevacizumab în funcție de categoria de boală și de luna prescrierii, observând că povara economică cea mai ridicată a fost în aproape toate lunile în cazul neoplasmului de colon. Molecule precum bevacizumab adaugă o povară economică însemnată asupra costurilor suportate de către Sistemului Național de Sănătate finanțat din fonduri publice și sunt necesare mai multe studii pentru evaluarea renta...

Qualitative Study on the Factors Influencing the Utilisation of Products Labelled “Food for Special Medicinal Use” (FSMP)

“…Using this strategy, we can obtain a wealth of descriptive information on people's attitudes, behaviours, and perceptions [30]. The following benefits of in-depth interview methods [15] are beneficial for this study:…”

“…For patients receiving a haematopoietic cell transplant, an additional point in the peak mucositis score resulted in an additional USD25,000 in hospital expenses [14]. In treating several cancers, surgery, chemotherapy (including immunotherapy or target therapy), and radiotherapy may be employed, and the expenditures involved with all these efforts are substantial [15].…”

Cost-effectiveness of FOLFOX6+Bevacizumab Versus FOLFOX6+Cetuximab in Stage IV Colorectal Cancer Patients in Shiraz, Iran

“…This kind of analysis is performed when the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is considered an important outcome. 24 Some studies addressed and compared the costs [25][26][27][28] or effectiveness [29][30][31][32] of the drugs investigated in this study separately. Some others investigated the cost-effectiveness of various drug combinations used in the treatment of stage IV colorectal cancer (not the drug combinations examined in the present study).…”

“…Some studies addressed and compared the costs 25 - 28 or effectiveness 29 - 32 of the drugs investigated in this study separately. Some others investigated the cost-effectiveness of various drug combinations used in the treatment of stage IV colorectal cancer (not the drug combinations examined in the present study).…”

Bevacizumabin and First-Line Chemotherapy in the Treatment of Metastatic Colorectal Cancer: Evaluation of Clinical Efficacy and Progression-Free Survival

“…Currently, the conduction pathway of biological signalling molecules has become the focus of colorectal cancer treatment, and commonly used drugs include cetuximab, panitumumab and bevacizumab [5][6][7]. Bevacizumab is a human-mouse chimeric monoclonal antibody, which can effectively bind tissue ligands to vascular endothelial growth factor, thereby inhibiting the proliferation and metastasis of tumour cells and promoting apoptosis [8]. Rubinstein et al [9] used bevacizumab in the treatment of advanced endometrial cancer and found that it could effectively improve the clinical treatment effect.…”