Real world costs and cost-effectiveness of Rituximab for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma patients: a population-based analysis.

BackgroundCurrent treatment of diffuse-large-B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) includes rituximab, an expensive drug, combined with cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (CHOP) chemotherapy. Economic models have predicted rituximab plus CHOP (RCHOP) to be a cost-effective alternative to CHOP alone as first-line treatment of DLBCL, but it remains unclear what its real-world costs and cost-effectiveness are in routine clinical practice.MethodsWe performed a population-based retrospective cohort study from 1997 to 2007, using linked administrative databases in Ontario, Canada, to evaluate the costs and cost-effectiveness of RCHOP compared to CHOP alone. A historical control cohort (n = 1,099) with DLBCL who received CHOP before rituximab approval was hard-matched on age and treatment intensity and then propensity-score matched on sex, comorbidity, and histology to 1,099 RCHOP patients. All costs and outcomes were adjusted for censoring using the inverse probability weighting method. The main outcome measure was incremental cost per life-year gained (LYG).ResultsRituximab was associated with a life expectancy increase of 3.2 months over 5 years at an additional cost of $16,298, corresponding to an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of$61,984 (95% CI $34,087-$135,890) per LYG. The probability of being cost-effective was 90% if the willingness-to-pay threshold was $100,000/LYG. The cost-effectiveness ratio was most favourable for patients less than 60 years old ($31,800/LYG) but increased to $80,600/LYG for patients 60-79 years old and$110,100/LYG for patients ≥ 80 years old. We found that post-market survival benefits of rituximab are similar to or lower than those reported in clinical trials, while the costs, incremental costs and cost-effectiveness ratios are higher than in published economic models and differ by age.ConclusionsOur results showed that the addition of rituximab to standard CHOP chemotherapy was associated with improvement in survival but at a higher cost, and was potentially cost-effective by standard thresholds for patients <60 years old. However, cost-effectiveness decreased significantly with age, suggesting that rituximab may be not as economically attractive in the very elderly on average. This has important clinical implications regarding age-related use and funding decisions on this drug

Pulmonary Kaposi's Sarcoma: Diagnostic Features and Natural History in Patients with Acquired Immuneodeficiency Syndrome

OBJECTIVE: This retrospective descriptive study was undertaken to highlight the diagnostic features and natural history of pulmonary Kaposi's sarcoma (KS).METHODS: Thirty-three patients with symptomatic pulmonary KS were assembled from a cohort of 239 patient with KS. Pulmonary KS was diagnosed by visualization of endobronchial lesions at bronchoscopy or based on clinical-radiological correlation and exclusion of opportunistic infections.RESULTS: The median time from initial presentation with KS to the development of pulmonary involvement was nine months. Dyspnea (79%) and dry cough (79%) were the most common presenting symptoms. Oral palatal involvement was present in 58% of patients with pulmonary KS. Pulmonary nodules (58%) were the most common radiological finding, but an interstitial pattern was noted in 42% of patients. Pleural effusion was present in 39%. Radiological patterns were not static, as 50% of patients with an initial interstitial pattern progressed to develop poorly formed nodules in the peripheral lung fields. Endobronchial lesions were noted on bronchoscopy in 23 patients. A presumptive diagnosis of pulmonary KS was made in 10 patients, with autopsy confirmation in four. Chemotherapy completely resolved symptoms in nine of 25 treated (36%) patients, and a further nine (36%) experienced a significant reduction in symptoms. Radiological improvement was noted in two of the clinical responders. Median survival from the time of diagnosis of pulmonary KS was only eight months, and symptoms relapsed within six weeks of achieving the best clinical response with chemotherapy.CONCLUSIONS: Pulmonary KS presents a difficult diagnostic challenge due to a nonspecific constellation of symptoms and radiological findings. Bronchoscopy is diagnostic when endobronchial lesions are visualized but, more important, it can exclude opportunistic infections. In some patients, even with a negative bronchoscopy, the diagnosis may still be established using clinical-radiographic correlation, particularly if there is radiological evolution to a nodular pattern over time. Multidrug chemotherapeutic regimens appear to have some symptomatic benefit, but radiological improvement is extremely limited. Progression of disease occurs in virtually all patients, and the median survival is only eight months from the point of recognition of pulmonary KS.Peer Reviewe