Noor Razilah Abdul Rafar1, Yet Hoi Hong2, David Bin-Chia Wu3, Muhamad Faiz Othman1, Chin Fen Neoh4. 1. Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Puncak Alam, Selangor, Malaysia. 2. Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 3. School of Pharmacy, Monash University Malaysia, Bandar Sunway, Selangor, Malaysia; Asian Centre for Evidence Synthesis in Population, Implementation and Clinical Outcomes, Health and Well-Being Cluster, Global Asia in the 21st Century Platform, Monash University Malaysia, Bandar Sunway, Selangor, Malaysia. 4. Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Puncak Alam, Selangor, Malaysia; Collaborative Drug Discovery Research Group, Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences Community of Research, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia. Electronic address: neohchinfen@puncakalam.uitm.edu.my.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To systematically review and assess the quality of the economic evidence of adjuvant trastuzumab usage in early breast cancer in Asian countries. METHODS: Literature search was performed using 6 electronic databases (PubMed, Scopus, Ovid MEDLINE, EconLit, National Health Service Economic Evaluation Database, and ISI Web of Knowledge). The final search was performed in October 2018. All potential economic studies were then checked for eligibility. The reporting and methodological qualities of each study were independently assessed by 2 authors of this review, using the Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards, Drummond, and Philips checklists. To compare the different currencies used in these studies, all costs were converted into US dollars (2016). RESULTS: A total of 6 studies were included; most of them were performed from the healthcare provider perspective. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio for evaluation performed for a lifetime horizon were reported at $8573 and $20 816 per quality-adjusted life-year in 2 studies. The model outcome was generally sensitive to the changes in trastuzumab drug acquisition cost and discount rate, as well as its clinical effectiveness. For the quality assessment, all studies fulfilled more than 50% of the requirements in the Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards, Drummond, and Philips checklists. CONCLUSIONS: Adjuvant trastuzumab therapy is considered a cost-effective option for early breast cancer in Asian countries including China, Iran, Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan. All studies were generally well conducted. Economic evaluations from the societal perspective, with inclusion of indirect and informal care costs, are warranted to facilitate informed decision making among policy makers.
OBJECTIVES: To systematically review and assess the quality of the economic evidence of adjuvant trastuzumab usage in early breast cancer in Asian countries. METHODS: Literature search was performed using 6 electronic databases (PubMed, Scopus, Ovid MEDLINE, EconLit, National Health Service Economic Evaluation Database, and ISI Web of Knowledge). The final search was performed in October 2018. All potential economic studies were then checked for eligibility. The reporting and methodological qualities of each study were independently assessed by 2 authors of this review, using the Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards, Drummond, and Philips checklists. To compare the different currencies used in these studies, all costs were converted into US dollars (2016). RESULTS: A total of 6 studies were included; most of them were performed from the healthcare provider perspective. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio for evaluation performed for a lifetime horizon were reported at $8573 and $20 816 per quality-adjusted life-year in 2 studies. The model outcome was generally sensitive to the changes in trastuzumab drug acquisition cost and discount rate, as well as its clinical effectiveness. For the quality assessment, all studies fulfilled more than 50% of the requirements in the Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards, Drummond, and Philips checklists. CONCLUSIONS: Adjuvant trastuzumab therapy is considered a cost-effective option for early breast cancer in Asian countries including China, Iran, Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan. All studies were generally well conducted. Economic evaluations from the societal perspective, with inclusion of indirect and informal care costs, are warranted to facilitate informed decision making among policy makers.