Cost-effectiveness of brentuximab vedotin in relapsed or refractory systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma.

18 Background: Systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma (sALCL) is a rare T-cell lymphoma. For patients who fail front-line therapy, outcomes are poor and there is no current defined standard of care. Brentuximab vedotin has demonstrated high objective response rates and is approved for patients with relapsed or refractory (R/R) sALCL. However, the cost-effectiveness of brentuximab vedotin compared with conventional chemotherapy has not been explored.

METHODS: A lifetime Excel-based partitioned survival model was used to compare survival outcomes from the pivotal phase-2 single-arm brentuximab vedotin trial of 58 R/R sALCL patients with good Eastern Corporative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status after one or more prior therapies (SG035-0004); with 40 sALCL patients from a Canadian cancer registry receiving first-line conventional salvage chemotherapy (65% with ECOG 0 or 1) between 1980 and 2012 and followed for up to 20 years. Extrapolation of brentuximab vedotin survival after the trial period assumed the same rate of change as for conventional chemotherapy. A United Kingdom National Health Service perspective was adopted. Costs included drug acquisition and administration, and medical care for adverse events and pre- and post-progression. Utility values elicited by response and by progression, and disutilities associated with adverse events were applied to estimate quality-adjusted life years (QALYs).

RESULTS: The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) for brentuximab vedotin was £35,390 per QALY gained versus conventional chemotherapy. ICERs were between £28,112 and £61,921 across a range of alternative model assumptions. Comparing only first-line salvage patients in both groups reduced the ICER to £26,766. Conversely, considering only patients with good ECOG performance status increased the ICER to £38,186. Using probabilistic sensitivity analysis, at willingness-to-pay of £38,000, the probability that brentuximab vedotin is cost-effective was > 50%.

CONCLUSIONS: Brentuximab vedotin may represent a cost-effective intervention compared to conventional chemotherapy for this patient population with limited therapeutic options.