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Cost-effectiveness of sunitinib in metastatic renal cell carcinoma
1Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research Unit, School of Pharmacy, University of Eastern Finland, PO Box 1627, 70211 Kuopio, Finland. timo.purmonen@uef.fi
Abstract:
Sunitinib is one of the first targeted treatments for metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) and is currently considered as the standard of care for most of the mRCC patients in the first-line setting. The introduction of targeted treatments has, in the past few years, led to improvements in disease management and survival of these patients, however, with increasing cost. Cost-effectiveness of sunitinib has been assessed on several occasions and a systematic literature search was conducted to find all published research articles as well as all research abstracts presented in various congresses. This article presents an overview of the currently existing cost-effectiveness studies of sunitinib in mRCC, along with the main results and the utilized methodology. In most of the economic evaluations sunitinib has been deemed to be a cost-effective treatment option compared with other treatments.
Insights
Sunitinib is a standard treatment for metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC). Most studies find sunitinib cost-effective compared to other therapies, despite its increasing cost.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Pharmacoeconomics
- Health Services Research
Background:
- Sunitinib is a first-line standard treatment for metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC).
- Targeted therapies like sunitinib improve mRCC patient outcomes but increase healthcare costs.
- Assessing the economic value of sunitinib is crucial for resource allocation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review and synthesize existing cost-effectiveness studies of sunitinib in mRCC.
- To provide an overview of the methodologies and main findings of these economic evaluations.
- To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of sunitinib as a treatment for mRCC.
Main Methods:
- Systematic literature search of published research articles and congress abstracts.
- Inclusion of studies assessing the cost-effectiveness of sunitinib for mRCC.
- Analysis of methodologies and reported outcomes of economic evaluations.
Main Results:
- Sunitinib is frequently identified as a cost-effective treatment option for mRCC.
- Comparisons with other treatments generally favor sunitinib in terms of cost-effectiveness.
- Variations in methodology across studies influence specific cost-effectiveness findings.
Conclusions:
- Sunitinib represents a cost-effective therapeutic strategy for metastatic renal cell carcinoma.
- Economic evaluations support the value of sunitinib in the management of mRCC.
- Further research may refine understanding of sunitinib's long-term economic impact.
