[The pharmacoeconomics of testicular cancer in Ukraine]

An ever-growing cost of health care in Ukraine attest to the need for an optimum employment of resources in diagnosing and treating disorders of major public health significance, testicular carcinoma (TC) among their number. The authors consider it expedient to ascertain TC costs and design an analytical framework for the diagnostic and therapeutic options to be assessed properly. The following combination chemotherapy regimens were found to be associated with high response rates and acceptable longterm survival: BEP, PE programmes for primary treatment and PEI programme for recurrent or refractory TC. The minimum cost of the above regimens in one course of treatment (with 2 to 4 usually prescribed) for one patient, his height 175 cm, weight 75 kg--S = 1.9 m2, is US$ 613.0, 385.9, 813.5 for BE100P, PE100, and PEI respectively. In the Lviv region with the population about 2,750,000 TC cytostatic therapy is estimated to be about US$ 75,168.6 this being 62.6% of the annual budget appropriation for drug therapy of all malignant diseases taken together. The importance is emphasized of pharmaco-economic principles in the clinical management of patients allowing for decisions to be made with taking account of the cost and expected outcome of the therapy instituted.