Use of Intermediate Endpoints in the Economic Evaluation of New Treatments for Advanced Cancer and Methods Adopted When Suitable Overall Survival Data are Not Available.

Objectives: This study assessed the use of intermediate endpoints in the economic evaluation of new treatments for advanced cancer and the methodological approaches adopted when overall survival (OS) data are unavailable or of limited use.

Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted to identify economic evaluations of treatments for advanced cancer published between 2003 and 2013. Cost-effectiveness and cost-utility analyses expressed in cost per life-year gained and cost per quality-adjusted life-year using an intermediate endpoint as an outcome measure were eligible.

Impact of switching to long-acting injectable antipsychotics on health services use in the treatment of schizophrenia.

Objective: To better understand the treatment patterns, persistence and compliance, resource use, and associated costs, of long-acting injectable antipsychotics (LAI-AP), using the Régie de l'assurance maladie du Québec database.

Method: Patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder who were incident users of an LAI-AP prescribed between January 1, 2008, and March 31, 2012, were selected. Concomitant use of oral APs and treatment persistence and compliance with LAI-AP were analyzed.

Progression-free survival as a potential surrogate for overall survival in metastatic breast cancer.

Background: Progression-free survival (PFS) and time to progression (TTP) are frequently used to establish the clinical efficacy of anti-cancer drugs. However, the surrogacy of PFS/TTP for overall survival (OS) remains a matter of uncertainty in metastatic breast cancer (mBC). This study assessed the relationship between PFS/TTP and OS in mBC using a trial-based approach.