Real-World Treatment Patterns of Patients with Basal Cell Carcinoma Using Sonidegib and Vismodegib: Discontinuation...

Sonidegib and vismodegib are Hedgehog pathway inhibitors (HHIs) approved for the treatment of locally advanced basal cell carcinoma (laBCC), as well as metastatic basal cell carcinoma (mBCC) for vismodegib. Few studies have compared real-world treatment patterns associated with HHI treatment. The objective of this study was to investigate the real-world treatment patterns and conditions of patients receiving HHIs for BCC.

In this longitudinal study, claims from the Komodo Health Claims Database (between 2016 and 2023) were used to identify patients. Baseline characteristics and comorbidities of patients were assessed. Time to treatment discontinuation (TTD), odds of discontinuation, and clinical conditions experienced during treatment were analyzed.

Patients who received sonidegib remained on treatment longer than those on vismodegib (log-rank test; P = 0.041) and were 23% less likely (P = 0.036) and 32% less likely (P = 0.013) to discontinue treatment at 6 and 9 months, respectively. Sonidegib-treated patients were less likely to experience gastrointestinal-related conditions (33% less likely; P = 0.045), taste- and smell-related conditions (71% less likely; P = 0.048), and muscle spasms (52% less likely; P = 0.009) during treatment compared with patients who received vismodegib.

In the real-world setting, sonidegib-treated patients remained on treatment longer than vismodegib-treated patients and were less likely to experience pharmacologically relevant clinical conditions.