[Cost-effectiveness analysis comparing carboplatin and weekly paclitaxel with cisplatin and docetaxel in the treatment of advanced non-small cell lung carcinoma].

Carboplatin plus weekly paclitaxel (CBDCA/wPTX) and cisplatin plus docetaxel (CDDP/DTX) are the standard regimens used in the first-line treatment of advanced non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC), with no significant difference in efficacy between the two. However, because there has been no study of the cost-effectiveness of CBDCA/wPTX versus CDDP/DTX to data, we compared these two regimens in the present study. Expected costs were calculated based on data from patients with Stage III b/IV NSCLC who were treated with either CBDCA/wPTX or CDDP/DTX in the Nippon Medical School Hospital. Efficacy (1-year survival rate) was determined by pooled analysis of studies extracted from the database. The cost-effectiveness ratio was calculated from expected costs and 1-year survival rates for both the CBDCA/wPTX and CDDP/DTX regimens. The expected costs per patient of the CBDCA/wPTX and CDDP/DTX regimens were ¥2, 847, 514 and ¥3, 513, 195, respectively, with 1-year survival rates of 38.6% and 42.5%, respectively. Thus, the cost-effectiveness ratio for the CBDCA/wPTX and CDDP/DTX regimens is ¥6, 750, 863 and ¥8, 329, 054, respectively. These findings clearly suggest that, CBDCA/wPTX is a more cost-effective regimen than CDDP/DTX.