Recurrences and Deaths Prevented by Atezolizumab Translate to Lower Cost of Care

Adjuvant atezolizumab can prevent recurrence and death in patients with early non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and therefore reduce costs of care, according to a study presented at JADPRO Live 2022, the annual APSHO meeting.

The study included US adults with resected, stage II-IIIA NSCLC who had PD-L1 levels of 1% or greater.

Researchers calculated the cumulative number of recurrences and deaths prevented, life-years saved, and associated cost reductions that would occur over a 5-year period if patients were treated with adjuvant atezolizumab rather than best supportive care.

The base case analysis included 4361 patients, and 2396 of them had a recurrence within 5 years when treated with best supportive care.

The researchers calculated that if these 4361 patients received atezolizumab, a mean 1027 patients would avoid disease recurrence over 5 years. Atezolizumab would also prevent a mean 373 deaths over that period, which translates to a mean 830.04 life-years saved.

The reduction in recurrences and deaths would lead to a mean $781 million reduction in cumulative direct costs, a mean $15.5 million reduction in indirect costs, and a mean $32.4 million reduction in terminal costs over 5 years, the researchers calculated.

They concluded that atezolizumab could “prevent a significant number of recurrence events and prolong overall survival, with important clinical, humanistic, and economic consequences for patients, physicians, payers, and society.”

Disclosures: This study was funded by Genentech. Four of the study authors are employed by the company. One is employed by Maple Health Group, LLC.

Reference

Elsisi Z, Sharma R, Smith N, Ogale S, Lee J. Estimating recurrences prevented and costs avoided with atezolizumab in early non-small cell lung cancer in the United States. Poster presented at: JADPRO Live 2022; October 20-23, 2022; Aurora, CO. Abstract JL1012E.