Budgetary impact of treating acute promyelocytic leukemia patients with first-line arsenic trioxide and retinoic acid from an Italian payer perspective

Clinical networking results in continuous improvement of the outcome of patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia

ABSTRACT

The introduction of all-trans retinoic acid combined with anthracyclines has significantly improved the outcomes for patients diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), and this strategy remains the standard of care in countries in which arsenic trioxide is not affordable. However, data from national registries and real-world databases indicate that low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) still face disappointing results, mainly because of high induction mortality and suboptimal management of complications. The American Society of Hematology established the International Consortium on Acute Leukemias (ICAL) to address this challenge through international clinical networking. Here, we present the findings from the International Consortium on Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia study involving 806 patients with APL recruited from 2005 to 2020 in Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay. The induction mortality rate has notably decreased to 14.6% compared with the pre-ICAL rate of 32%. Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed as factors associated with induction death: age of ≥40 years, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status score of 3, high-risk status based on the Programa Español de Tratamiento en Hematologia/Gruppo Italiano Malattie EMatologiche dell'Adulto classification, albumin level of ≤3.5 g/dL, bcr3 PML/RARA isoform, the interval between presenting symptoms to diagnosis exceeding 48 hours, and the occurrence of central nervous system and pulmonary bleeding. With a median follow-up of 53 months, the estimated 4-year overall survival rate is 81%, the 4-year disease-free survival rate is 80%, and the 4-year cumulative incidence of relapse rate is 15%. These results parallel those observed in studies conducted in high-income countries, highlighting the long-term effectiveness of developing clinical networks to improve clinical care and infrastructure in LMIC.

BAPST. A Combo of Common use drugs as metabolic therapy of cancer-a theoretical proposal

Advances in cancer therapy have yet to impact worldwide cancer mortality. Poor cancer drug affordability is one of the factors limiting mortality burden strikes. Up to now, cancer drug repurposing had no meet expectations concerning drug affordability. The three FDA-approved cancer drugs developed under repurposing -all-trans-retinoic acid, arsenic trioxide, and thalidomide- do not differ in price from other drugs developed under the classical model. Though additional factors affect the whole process from inception to commercialization, the repurposing of widely used, commercially available, and cheap drugs may help. This work reviews the concept of the malignant metabolic phenotype and its exploitation by simultaneously blocking key metabolic processes altered in cancer. We elaborate on a combination called BAPST, which stands for the following drugs and pathways they inhibit: Benserazide (glycolysis), Apomorphine (glutaminolysis), Pantoprazole (Fatty-acid synthesis), Simvastatin (mevalonate pathway), and Trimetazidine (Fatty-acid oxidation). Their respective primary indications are: • Parkinson's disease (benserazide and apomorphine). • Peptic ulcer disease (pantoprazole). • Hypercholesterolemia (simvastatin). • Ischemic heart disease (trimetazidine). When used for their primary indication, the literature review on each of these drugs shows they have a good safety profile and lack predicted pharmacokinetic interaction among them. Most importantly, the inhibitory enzymatic concentrations required for inhibiting their cancer targets enzymes are below the plasma concentrations observed when these drugs are used for their primary indication. Based on that, we propose that the regimen BAPTS merits preclinical testing.

Cost-effectiveness of the regimen proposed by the International Consortium on Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia for the treatment of newly diagnosed patients with Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia

Introduction

We performed cost-effectiveness and cost-utility analyses of the modified International Consortium on Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia protocol in Mexico for the treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia.

Methods

We performed a three-state Markov analysis: stable disease (first line complete response [CR]), disease event (relapse, second line response and CR) and death. The modified IC-APL protocol is composed of three phases: induction, consolidation and maintenance. Cost and outcomes were used to calculate incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs); quality-adjusted life-years were used to calculate incremental cost-utility ratios (ICURs).

Results

The CR was achieved in 18 patients (90%), treated with the IC-APL protocol as the first-line option; one patient (5%) died in induction, another one never achieved CR (5%); of the 18 patients that achieved CR, 1 relapsed (5.5%). The median treatment cost of the IC-APL protocol was $21,523 USD. The average life-year in our study was 7.8 years, while the average quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) was 6.1 years. When comparing the ICER between the IC-APL and the all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) plus arsenic trioxide (ATO) protocols, we found the different costs of $6497, $19,133 and $17,123 USD in Italy, the USA and Canada, respectively. In relation to the ICUR, we found the different costs to be $13,955 and $11,979 USD in the USA and Canada, respectively.

Conclusion

Taking into account the similar response rates, lower cost and easy access to the modified IC-APL regimen, we consider it a cost-effective and cost-utility protocol, deeming it the treatment of choice for our population.

Resource utilization and cost effectiveness of treating acute promyelocytic leukaemia using generic arsenic trioxide

Arsenic trioxide (ATO)-based regimens are the standard of care for treating acute promyelocytic leukaemia (APL) and have replaced chemotherapy-based approaches. However, the cost of "patented" ATO is prohibitive because of patent rights. "Generic" ATO has been used in a few countries, but its implications for health resource utilization (HRU) and cost of treatment are unknown. We hypothesized that treating APL patients using generic ATO (APL-ATO) will be cost effective compared to the chemotherapy-based regimen (APL-CT). In a single-centre retrospective study, we used a bottom-up costing method to compare the direct medical cost of treatment and HRU between APL-ATO and APL-CT. These costs and the survival and relapse probabilities were imputed in a three-state Markov decision model to estimate the cost effectiveness of APL-ATO compared to APL-CT. The mean cost of treatment for APL-ATO (n = 30, $8500 ± 2078) was significantly less than for APL-CT (n = 30, $22 600 ± 5528) (P < 0·001). APL-ATO reduced hospitalization, antibiotic and antifungal usage (P < 0·001). In the Markov model, five-year treatment costs were significantly lower for APL-ATO ($11 131) than for APL-CT ($17 926) (P < 0·001). Treatment cost and health resource utilization were significantly lower for generic ATO-treated APL patients compared to the chemotherapy-based regimen.