Economic burden of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC): a systematic literature review

A systematic review of the economic burden of advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Articles from 2011 onwards reporting the economic burden of locally advanced (stage IIIB/C)/metastatic (stage IV) NSCLC were identified through systematic and supplementary searches. Outcomes included hospitalizations, emergency department (ED) and outpatient visits, and direct and indirect costs, amongst others.

Across 50 publications (43 studies), patients with advanced NSCLC had high rates of healthcare resource utilization (HCRU), with most reporting hospitalization (ranging from 13.0% to 98.2% of patients), ED visits (2.5% to 83.1%), outpatient visits (74.6% to 100.0%), and diagnostic or monitoring tests (45.9% to 92.0%). HCRU (hospitalizations, ED visits and pharmacy visits) appeared to be lower with immunotherapy as compared to chemotherapy. Brain/central nervous system (CNS) metastases were the major clinical factor influencing HCRU. Mean direct costs ranged from US$5,647 (Brazil) to US$158,908 (US) over 12-24 months, and were generally higher in the US, Korea, Germany, and the UK (vs. Brazil, France, and Italy). The main direct cost drivers were drug-related costs (9.5-76.0% of total), overall outpatient costs (39-70.6%), and inpatient costs (5.0-58.1%). Costs were higher for chemotherapy than for immunotherapy. In China, indirect medical costs were US$1,413 per case. In general, mean total healthcare costs were higher for metastatic disease. Disease severity/diagnosis, presence of brain/CNS metastases, targeted therapy and chemotherapy (vs. immunotherapy) and the presence of comorbidities were the main factors influencing higher costs.

Patients with advanced NSCLC had high rates of HCRU, and costs were substantial, though varying greatly across countries. HCRU and costs were higher in patients with brain/CNS metastases. Since this was a qualitative review, no formal quantitative synthesis was attempted. Costs reported in different currencies and heterogeneity across studies limited comparability. Finally, a single reviewer extracted data.