Cost-effectiveness analyses of anti-hepatitis C virus treatments using quality of life scoring among patients with chronic liver disease in Hiroshima prefecture, Japan

Transarterial radioembolization vs transarterial chemoembolization with drug-eluting beads for treating hepatocellular carcinoma: a cost-effectiveness analysis in Japanese healthcare system

PURPOSE

Transarterial radioembolization (TARE) is effective for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma; however, it awaits approval in Japan. This study aimed to simulate the cost-effectiveness of TARE over chemoembolization when TARE is approved in Japan and identify the requirements for cost-effectiveness.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A Markov model was constructed to analyze the costs and effectiveness associated with TARE and transarterial chemoembolization with drug-eluting beads (DEB-TACE) for 2-month cycles over 5 years. In the primary analysis, the intention-to-treat survival data were used to calculate transition probabilities, whereas the ancillary analysis assessed the per-protocol survival data. DEB-TACE costs were calculated using the Japanese nationwide claims Diagnosis Procedure Combination database between April 2018 and March 2022, whereas TARE costs were estimated using database and international sources. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) was determined based on the payer's perspective and compared with the Japanese willingness-to-pay threshold of 5 million Japanese yen (JPY) (31,250 USD) per quality-adjusted life years (QALY).

RESULTS

From the claims database, 6,986 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who received DEB-TACE were identified. In the primary analysis, the ICER was 5,173,591 JPY (32,334 USD)/QALY, surpassing the Japanese willingness-to-pay threshold. However, the ancillary analysis showed a lower ICER of 4,156,533 JPY (25,978 USD)/QALY, falling below the threshold. The one-way deterministic sensitivity analysis identified progression-free survival associated with TARE and DEB-TACE, DEB-TACE costs, and radioactive microsphere reimbursement price as key ICER influencers. The primary analysis suggested that setting the reimbursement price of radioactive microspheres below 1.399 million JPY (8,744 USD), approximately 2.8% lower than the price in the United Kingdom, would place the ICER below the Japanese willingness-to-pay threshold.

CONCLUSIONS

Under specific conditions, TARE can be a more cost-effective treatment than DEB-TACE. If the reimbursement price of radioactive microspheres is set approximately 2.8% lower than that in the United Kingdom, TARE could be cost-effective compared with DEB-TACE.

Current standard values of health utility scores for evaluating cost-effectiveness in liver disease: A meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Health utility assessments have been developed for various conditions, including chronic liver disease. Health utility scores are required for socio-economic evaluations, which can aid the distribution of national budgets. However, the standard health utility assessment scores for specific health conditions are largely unknown.

AIM

To summarize the health utility scores, including the EuroQOL 5-dimensions 5-levels (EQ-5D-5L), EuroQol-visual analogue scale, short from-36 (SF-36), RAND-36, and Health Utilities Index (HUI)-Mark2/Mark3 scores, for the normal population and chronic liver disease patients.

METHODS

A systematic literature search of PubMed and MEDLINE, including the Cochrane Library, was performed. Meta-analysis was performed using the RevMan software. Multiple means and standard deviations were combined using the StatsToDo online web program.

RESULTS

The EQ-5D-5L and SF-36 can be used for health utility evaluations during antiviral therapy for hepatitis C. HUI-Mark2/Mark3 indicated that the health utility scores of hepatitis B patients are roughly 30% better than those of hepatitis C patients.

CONCLUSION

The EQ-5D-5L is the most popular questionnaire for health utility assessments. Health assessments that allow free registration would be useful for evaluating health utility in patients with liver disease.

Treatment patterns and medical costs after hepatectomy in real-world practice for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma in Japan

AIM

To examine the treatment patterns and medical costs in real-world practice among patients who received hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in Japan.

METHODS

Data of patients who underwent hepatectomy as an initial therapy for primary HCC were extracted from a Japanese medical claims database from April 2008 to December 2019. The types of additional treatments for recurrent HCC and medical costs for up to 3 years from the first hepatectomy were analyzed. The average cumulative cost per patient starting on the date of the first hepatectomy was calculated using the Kaplan-Meier sample-average method.

RESULTS

Data from 2 342 patients (median age, 71 years) were analyzed. Overall, 35.6% of patients received at least one HCC treatment within 3 years of the first hepatectomy. The total average cumulative 3-years medical cost was JPY 4 993 300 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 4 804 100 to 5 220 500). Surgical procedures were the most costly components in the first month after hepatectomy, whereas the costs of drugs, which mainly included antiviral and antineoplastic medications, increased thereafter. Patients with advanced stage HCC, hepatitis C, or a higher Charlson Comorbidity Index at hepatectomy, or those who required additional treatment, especially with antineoplastic drugs for recurrent HCC, incurred higher medical costs.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with HCC after hepatectomy experienced a large economic burden, which was more serious for those with advanced stage HCC, higher comorbidities, and hepatitis at baseline and for patients treated with antineoplastic drugs. A treatment selection that considers its medical cost burden would help to reduce some of these economic burdens.

A cost-effectiveness analysis of lusutrombopag for thrombocytopenia in patients with chronic liver disease in Japan

Background and Aim

Thrombocytopenia is a frequent hematological condition in chronic liver disease (CLD) patients increasing the risk of bleeding in patients undergoing invasive procedures. Without an alternative, clinical guidelines recommended the use of platelet transfusion (PT) prior to procedure to prevent this bleeding risk. Lusutrombopag (LUSU), an orally active, small‐molecule thrombopoietin receptor agonist, was developed as an alternative to PT. The objective of this study was to evaluate a cost‐effectiveness of LUSU as a potential alternative to PT in Japan.

Methods

A cost‐effectiveness analysis of LUSU relative to PT was conducted by a simulation model consisting of a decision tree combined to Markov model. Quality‐adjusted life years (QALYs) were used as an indicator of efficacy, and the analysis was conducted from the Japanese public healthcare payer's perspective. The time horizon of the analysis was 50 years (a lifetime) and the discount rate was set at 2%.

Results

LUSU gained 6.1803 QALYs with an expected lifetime costs of 2 380 219 JPY compared to PT with 6.1712 QALYs gained and expected lifetime costs of 2 382 908 JPY. Thus, LUSU was deemed dominant compared with PT. Based on probabilistic analyses, the chance of LUSU being dominant and the incremental cost‐effectiveness ratio being below 5 million JPY/QALY was estimated at 51.8% and 78.3%, respectively, demonstrating the robustness of the results.

Conclusions

LUSU was evaluated as an efficacious and cost‐saving treatment option for Japanese CLD patients with thrombocytopenia who required a planned invasive procedure compared with PT and economically should be considered as an alternative treatment.

Estimating the price at which hepatitis C treatment with direct-acting antivirals would be cost-saving in Japan

In Japan, 1.5-2 million people are chronically infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. New direct-acting antiviral agents (DAA) offer an unprecedented opportunity to cure HCV. While the price of HCV treatment decreased recently in most countries, it remains one of the highest in Japan. Our objective was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of HCV treatment in patients of different age groups and to estimate the price at which DAAs become cost-saving in Japan. A previously developed microsimulation model was adapted to the Japanese population and updated with Japan-specific health utilities and costs. Our model showed that compared with no treatment, the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of DAAs at a price USD 41,046 per treatment was USD 9,080 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained in 60-year-old patients. HCV treatment became cost-effective after 9 years of starting treatment. However, if the price of DAAs is reduced by 55-85% (USD 6,730 to 17,720), HCV treatment would be cost-saving within a 5 to 20-year time horizon, which should serve to increase the uptake of DAA-based HCV treatment. The payers of health care in Japan could examine ways to procure DAAs at a price where they would be cost-saving.

Direct-acting Antivirals Improved the Quality of Life, Ameliorated Disease-related Symptoms, and Augmented Muscle Volume Three Years Later in Patients with Hepatitis C Virus

Objective Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) are important measures of the quality of life (QOL) and symptoms in patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV). We evaluated the PROs at the beginning of direct-acting antiviral (DAA) treatment and three years later. A low QOL in patients with chronic liver disease suggested a low muscle mass. We compared the relationship between the QOL and muscle mass. Methods DAAs were administered to 100 patients with HCV infection. The PROs included the cirrhosis-related symptom score (CSS), presence of restless legs syndrome, Pittsburg sleep quality index (PSQI) to evaluate sleep disturbance, SF-36 to measure the QOL, and calculated body muscle mass (CBMM) measured at the beginning of treatment and three years later. Computed tomography (CT) was used to screen 82 patients for hepatocellular carcinoma at the beginning of treatment and three years later. Cross-sectional CT images of the third lumbar vertebrae were analyzed to evaluate the body composition. Results The general health perception (GHN) of SF-36 was better at three years after DAA administration than at the beginning. Changes in the GHN (dGHN) were related to an improved sleep quality on the PSQI and CSS and increased CBMM. The dGHN was positively related to changes in the skeletal muscle. The sleep quality, sleep latency, fatigue, and abdominal fullness were related to dGHN. Conclusion The QOL is related to sleep disturbance and several other symptoms. Furthermore, in patients with an increased muscle volume after DAA treatment, increased muscle mass is associated with an improvement in the QOL.

How would China achieve WHO's target of eliminating HCV by 2030?

Introduction: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major global health concern on the rise, prompting unprecedented efforts by the World Health Organization (WHO) to eliminate this epidemic by 2030. Being the country with the largest HCV-infected population in the world, China has been faced with a general lack of awareness for HCV, low treatment uptake and subpar collaborations among healthcare providers and stakeholders. Areas covered: This review discusses the epidemiological situations of HCV infection and the challenges in HCV management in China. This review also explores micro-elimination strategies in China, identifying potential sub-populations for concerted efforts in eliminating HCV. As DAAs are increasingly recognized as a more effective alternative to traditional regimens, the cost-effectiveness and budget impacts of bringing more DAAs into the reimbursement lists are also addressed. Several small-scale targeted literature searches were conducted in PubMed for various topics covered in the article, and hand searching was performed to fill any data gaps. More recent data were used wherever possible. Expert opinion: Considering the unique socioeconomical landscape of China, micro-elimination strategies might be more effective and should be targeted at high-risk populations. Varying regional needs in HCV care across the country necessitate decentralized approaches in research and policy-making.

Treatment with direct-acting antivirals improves peripheral insulin sensitivity in non-diabetic, lean chronic hepatitis C patients

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is associated with insulin resistance, which may lead to type 2 diabetes and its complications. Although HCV infects mainly hepatocytes, it may impair insulin sensitivity at the level of uninfected extrahepatic tissues (muscles and adipose tissue). The aim of this study was to assess whether an interferon-free, antiviral therapy may improve HCV-associated hepatic vs. peripheral insulin sensitivity.

METHODS

In a single-arm exploratory trial, 17 non-diabetic, lean chronic hepatitis C patients without significant fibrosis were enrolled, and 12 completed the study. Patients were treated with a combination of sofosbuvir/ledipasvir and ribavirin for 12 weeks, and were submitted to a 2-step euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp with tracers, together with indirect calorimetry measurement, to measure insulin sensitivity before and after 6 weeks of antivirals. A panel of 27 metabolically active cytokines was analyzed at baseline and after therapy-induced viral suppression.

RESULTS

Clamp analysis performed in 12 patients who achieved complete viral suppression after 6 weeks of therapy showed a significant improvement of the peripheral insulin sensitivity (13.1% [4.6-36.7], p = 0.003), whereas no difference was observed neither in the endogenous glucose production, in lipolysis suppression nor in substrate oxidation. A distinct subset of hepatokines, potentially involved in liver-to-periphery crosstalk, was modified by the antiviral therapy.

CONCLUSION

Pharmacological inhibition of HCV improves peripheral (but not hepatic) insulin sensitivity in non-diabetic, lean individuals with chronic hepatitis C without significant fibrosis.

Cost-effectiveness analysis of lenvatinib treatment for patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (uHCC) compared with sorafenib in Japan

BACKGROUND

Lenvatinib demonstrated a treatment effect on overall survival by the statistical confirmation of non-inferiority to sorafenib for the first-line treatment of uHCC. The objective of this study was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of lenvatinib compared with sorafenib for patients with uHCC in Japan.

METHODS

A partitioned-survival model was developed to estimate the cost-effectiveness of lenvatinib versus sorafenib when treating uHCC patients over a lifetime horizon and considering total public healthcare expenditure. Efficacy and safety data were extracted from the REFLECT trial. Utility values were derived from the European Quality-of-Life 5-Dimension Questionnaire, conducted with patients enrolled in the REFLECT trial. Direct medical costs, such as primary drug therapy, outpatient visits, diagnostic tests, hospitalization, post-progression therapy, and adverse-event treatments, were included. Cost parameters unavailable in the clinical trial or publications were obtained based on the consolidated clinical standards from a Delphi panel of four Japanese medical experts.

RESULTS

For lenvatinib versus sorafenib, the incremental cost was - 406,307 Japanese Yen (JPY), and the incremental life years and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) were 0.27 and 0.23, respectively. Thus, lenvatinib dominated sorafenib, due to the mean incremental cost-effectiveness ratio falling in the fourth quadrant, conferring more benefit at lower costs compared with sorafenib. The probabilistic sensitivity analysis showed that 81.3% of the simulations were favorable to lenvatinib compared with sorafenib, with a payer's willingness-to-pay-per-QALY of 5 million JPY.

CONCLUSIONS

Lenvatinib was cost-effective compared with sorafenib for the first-line treatment of uHCC in Japan.