Estimated Cost of Anticancer Therapy Directed by Comprehensive Genomic Profiling in a Single-Center Study

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Genomics
• Health Economics

Background:

• Comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) enables simultaneous detection of diverse genomic alterations.
• CGP facilitates matching patients to genomically targeted therapies, potentially improving outcomes over conventional molecular profiling.

Purpose of the Study:

• To estimate the costs of anticancer drugs and overall survival (OS) for patients treated with CGP-matched versus unmatched therapies.
• To evaluate the impact of therapy line on the benefits and costs of matched therapy.

Main Methods:

• A prospective, nonrandomized study included 188 patients with refractory cancers who underwent CGP.
• Costs and outcomes (time to treatment failure [TTF], OS) were analyzed for patients receiving matched or unmatched therapy.
• Patient-specific drug costs were imputed based on regimen, unit costs, and treatment duration.

Main Results:

• Matched therapy (n=122) demonstrated longer mean TTF (+1.5 months) and OS (+2.4 months) compared to unmatched therapy (n=66), with higher drug costs (+$38,065).
• Increased costs were primarily due to longer treatment duration (66.3%) rather than higher monthly drug expenses (33.7%).
• Benefits (TTF, OS) and cost-effectiveness of matched therapy were more pronounced in earlier lines of treatment.

Conclusions:

• Matched therapy, guided by CGP, is associated with improved TTF and OS and manageable incremental costs.
• Higher costs are mainly driven by extended treatment duration, not increased monthly drug expenses.
• Early application of CGP for therapy matching yields greater clinical and economic advantages.