Societal preferences for adjuvant melanoma health states: UK and Australia

An update on the safety of nivolumab for the treatment of advanced melanoma

Introduction: Due to its unique mechanism of action as an immune checkpoint inhibitor, nivolumab has high antitumor activity, but at the same time this mechanism is responsible for immune-related adverse events that may limit patients' safety and therapy continuation.Areas covered: Long-term safety of nivolumab including 5-year follow-up, safety of nivolumab treatment after ipilimumab therapy, safety of nivolumab in challenging subgroups (elderly, patients with brain metastases, patients with autoimmune disorders), safety of nivolumab in with rare melanoma subtypes (including mucosal melanoma), as well as specificity of AEs reported for nivolumab treatment in melanoma patients in comparison to other cancer types and other immunotherapy molecules, and impact of AEs on response rates and PFS on nivolumab treatment are discussed.Expert opinion: Search for biomarkers that would help us to identify patient populations that may suffer from severe nivolumab toxicity could help in selecting patients that should not be treated with this type of therapy. Novel combinations and immunotherapy drugs including use of NKTR-214 (IL-2 pathway), lymphocyte-activation gene 3 (LAG-3), local injections of talimogene laherparepvec (T-VEC), or systemic use of T-cell receptors agonists such as OX40, CD137, ICOS-1, could provide regimens with limited toxicity and higher activity.

An Economic Evaluation of Pembrolizumab Versus Other Adjuvant Treatment Strategies for Resected High-Risk Stage III Melanoma in the USA

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Over the past 5 years, adjuvant treatment options for surgically resected stage III melanoma have expanded with the introduction of several novel immune checkpoint inhibitors and targeted therapies. Pembrolizumab, a programmed cell death protein 1 inhibitor, received US Food and Drug Administration approval in 2019 for resected high-risk stage III melanoma based on significantly longer recurrence-free survival versus placebo. This study evaluated the cost-effectiveness of pembrolizumab versus other adjuvant treatment strategies for resected high-risk stage III melanoma from a US health system perspective.

METHODS

A Markov cohort-level model with four states (recurrence-free, locoregional recurrence, distant metastases, death) estimated costs and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) for pembrolizumab versus routine observation and other adjuvant comparators: ipilimumab in the overall population; and dabrafenib + trametinib in the BRAF-mutation positive (BRAF+) subgroup. Transition probabilities starting from recurrence-free were estimated through parametric multi-state modeling based on phase 3 KEYNOTE-054 (NCT02362594) trial data for pembrolizumab and observation, and network meta-analyses for other comparators. Post-recurrence transitions were modeled based on electronic medical records data and trials in advanced/metastatic melanoma. Utilities were derived using quality-of-life data from KEYNOTE-054 and literature. Costs of treatment, adverse events, disease management, and terminal care were included.

RESULTS

Over a lifetime, pembrolizumab, ipilimumab, and observation were associated with QALYs of 9.24, 7.09, and 5.95 and total costs of $511,290, $992,721, and $461,422, respectively (2019 US dollars). Pembrolizumab was thus dominant (less costly, more effective) versus ipilimumab, with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of $15,155/QALY versus observation. In the BRAF+ subgroup, pembrolizumab dominated dabrafenib + trametinib and observation, decreasing costs by $62,776 and $11,250 and increasing QALYs by 0.93 and 3.10 versus these comparators, respectively. Results were robust in deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses.

CONCLUSIONS

As adjuvant treatment for resected stage III melanoma, pembrolizumab was found to be dominant and therefore cost-effective compared with the active comparators ipilimumab and dabrafenib + trametinib. Pembrolizumab increased costs relative to observation in the overall population, with sufficient incremental benefit to be considered cost-effective based on typical willingness-to-pay thresholds.

Cost-effectiveness of pembrolizumab for the adjuvant treatment of resected high-risk stage III melanoma in the United States

Aims: To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of adjuvant pembrolizumab relative to observation alone following complete resection of high-risk stage III melanoma with lymph node involvement, from a US health system perspective. Materials and methods: A Markov cohort model with four health states (recurrence-free, locoregional recurrence, distant metastases, and death) was developed to estimate costs, life-years, and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) associated with pembrolizumab vs observation over a lifetime (46-year) horizon. Using a parametric multi-state modeling approach, transition probabilities starting from recurrence-free were estimated based on patient-level data from KEYNOTE-054 (NCT02362594), a direct head-to-head phase 3 trial. Post-recurrence transition probabilities were informed by real-world retrospective data and clinical trials in advanced melanoma. Health state utilities and adverse event-related disutility were derived from KEYNOTE-054 trial data and published literature. Costs of drug acquisition and administration, adverse events, disease management, and terminal care were estimated in 2018 US dollars. Deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were conducted to assess robustness. Results: Over a lifetime horizon, adjuvant pembrolizumab and observation were associated with total QALYs of 9.24 and 5.95, total life-years of 10.54 and 7.15, and total costs of $489,820 and $440,431, respectively. The resulting incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) for pembrolizumab vs observation were $15,009/QALY and $14,550/life-year. Across the range of input values and assumptions tested in deterministic sensitivity analyses, pembrolizumab ranged from being a dominant strategy to having an ICER of $57,449/QALY vs observation. The ICER was below a willingness-to-pay threshold of $100,000/QALY in 90.2% of probabilistic simulations. Limitations: Long-term extrapolation of outcomes was based on interim results from KEYNOTE-054, with a median follow-up of 15 months. Conclusions: Based on common willingness-to-pay benchmarks, pembrolizumab is highly cost-effective compared with observation alone for the adjuvant treatment of completely resected stage III melanoma in the US.