Cost analysis: treatment of chemotherapy-induced anemia with erythropoiesis-stimulating agents in five European countries.

Objective: Cost-analysis comparing darbepoetin-alfa (DARB), epoetin-alfa (EPO-A), and epoetin-beta (EPO-B) for treatment of chemotherapy-induced anemia in Belgium concluded that costs for DARB-treated patients were significantly lower than costs for EPO-A- or EPO-B-treated patients. The objective of the present study was to extend the Belgian analysis to Austria, France, Italy, Portugal, and Spain, estimating differences in costs between erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) in each country.

Methods: Differences in epidemiology and treatment patterns between countries were adjusted using data from Eurostat, national cancer registries, IMS sales data, and reimbursement and treatment guidelines. Belgian unit costs were replaced with country-specific costs. Costs were analyzed using a mixed-effects model stratifying for propensity score quintiles.

Results: All populations were comparable to the Belgian population in terms of age, gender, ESA, and blood transfusions use. After adjusting for country-specific chemotherapy use and cancer incidence, total management costs per patient (Euro, 2010) were 19-26% (France, Spain) lower with DARB compared with EPO-A (p < 0.0001) and 20-36% (Portugal, Austria) compared with EPO-B (p < 0.01). Anemia-related costs with DARB were between 12% (Portugal; p = 0.0235) and 38% (Italy; p < 0.0001) lower compared with EPO-A (p < 0.01; all remaining countries), and between 13% (Austria; p = 0.064) and 19% (Portugal; p = 0.0028) lower compared with EPO-B (p < 0.05; all remaining countries except Italy; p = 0.0935).

Limitations: Not all differences could be accounted for by a lack of country-specific data; however, the potential under- and over-estimation of costs should be similar for all three ESAs.

Conclusions: These findings are in line with the Belgian analysis. In all countries, total and anemia-related costs were lowest in patients receiving DARB vs EPO-A or EPO-B. This study demonstrates the feasibility of adapting real-life country-specific data to other settings, adjusting for differences in patients' characteristics and treatment strategies. These findings should be valuable in healthcare decision-making in oncology patients treated in each of the countries studied.