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- Title
Can we afford to add chemotherapy to radiotherapy for glioblastoma multiforme? Cost‐identification analysis of concomitant and adjuvant treatment with temozolomide until patient death.
- Authors
Jean‐Blaise Wasserfallen; Sandrine Ostermann; Alessia Pica; René‐Olivier Mirimanoff; Serge Leyvraz; Jean‐Guy Villemure; Roger Stupp
- Abstract
Adding temozolomide (TMZ) to standard radiotherapy as a first‐line therapy for glioma may increase costs to a disproportionate degree compared with the resulting survival benefits.Forty‐six consecutive patients (28 males and 18 females; median age, 52 years; age range, 24–70 years) received concomitant TMZ with radiotherapy for 6 weeks followed by adjuvant TMZ for 6 cycles, and they were followed until disease recurrence and then until death. The authors assessed the costs associated with the four phases of treatment from a hospital‐centered perspective.Treatment was discontinued early in 3 patients, 9 patients, and 15 patients during concomitant TMZ, before adjuvant TMZ, and during adjuvant TMZ, respectively. Karnofsky index values varied between 85% (at the beginning of treatment) and 76% (at the end of treatment). The nature of care after disease recurrence was diverse. Overall survival ranged from 1.4 months to 64.3 months (median, 15.8 months) and was better if surgical debulking could be carried out before treatment. Global costs amounted to €39,092 ± €21,948 (concomitant TMZ, €14,539 ± €4998; adjuvant TMZ, €13,651 ± €4320; follow‐up, €6363 ± €6917; and recurrence, €12,344 ± €18,327), with 53% of these costs being related to the acquisition of TMZ; this represented an eightfold increase in cost compared with radiotherapy alone.TMZ may be an effective but costly adjuvant outpatient therapy for patients with glioblastoma multiforme. Definite cost‐effectiveness/utility must be assessed in a randomized Phase III trial. Cancer 2004. © 2004 American Cancer Society.
- Subjects
RADIOTHERAPY; GLIOMAS; ADJUVANT treatment of cancer; DISEASE relapse; OUTPATIENT medical care
- Publication
Cancer (0008543X), 2004, Vol 101, Issue 9, p2098
- ISSN
0008-543X
- Publication type
Article