Rituximab has recently been added to the arsenal of treatments for lymphoma patients. Adding rituximab to traditional chemotherapy regimens has been found to increase an individual's chance of cure and extend their survival time. Results from British Columbia indicate that rituximab is also a cost-effective treatment, providing good value for money.
Traditionally, economic evaluations of rituximab have been performed using data resulting from controlled clinical trials. These trial-based results provide valuable information, but they describe an idealized setting that may not be consistent with conditions observed in actual practice. It is also of interest to evaluate the experiences of actual lymphoma patients in order to measure the economic value of rituximab in a real-world setting.
A recent study, "Cost-Effectiveness of the Addition Of Rituximab To CHOP Chemotherapy In First-Line Treatment For Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma In A Population-Based Observational Cohort In British Columbia, Canada", published in Value in Health, evaluates the effect of rituximab on medical costs and survival for lymphoma patients receiving routine care in British Columbia. The study's co-authors included cancer control researchers Stuart Peacock and Karissa Johnston of the Canadian Centre for Applied Research in Cancer Control (ARCC) and oncologist Joseph Connors of the British Columbia Cancer Agency.
Says Dr Peacock, co-director of the new ARCC centre, "New cancer treatments are often expensive and may offer modest improvements to length and quality of life compared to existing treatments. We found that for patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma adding rituximab to chemotherapy increases life expectancy and provides very good value for money."
Value in Health (ISSN 1098-3015) publishes papers, concepts, and ideas that advance the field of pharmacoeconomics and outcomes research and help health care leaders to make decisions that are solidly evidence-based. The journal is published bi-monthly and has a regular readership of over 5,000 clinicians, decision-makers, and researchers worldwide.
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ISPOR