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Objective: Icotinib has been approved for adjuvant treatment of stage II-IIIA non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with activating epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations in China, yet the long-term costs and outcomes of this strategy are unknown. Thus, we examined the cost effectiveness of adjuvant icotinib, compared with adjuvant chemotherapy, for the treatment of resected stage II-IIIA EGFR-mutated NSCLC., Design: We performed a cost-effectiveness analysis from the perspective of the Chinese healthcare system, comparing 2-year adjuvant icotinib with four cycles of adjuvant chemotherapy. Costs and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) were estimated using a Markov model. Model inputs were obtained from local data and literature. The influence of model parameters and assumptions was explored in sensitivity analyses. All costs are expressed in 2022 US dollars, and costs and QALYs were discounted at a rate of 5% per year. The willingness-to-pay (WTP) threshold was set at three times the per capita gross domestic product., Setting: The Chinese healthcare system perspective., Participants: A hypothetical Chinese cohort of patients with resected stage II-IIIA EGFR-mutated NSCLC., Interventions: Icotinib versus chemotherapy., Primary Outcome Measure: Costs, QALYs, incremental cost-effectiveness ratio., Results: The incremental cost per QALY gained with the use of 2-year icotinib, from the Chinese healthcare system perspective, was $3440.66 compared with adjuvant chemotherapy. At a WTP threshold of $40 500, adjuvant icotinib was the optimal treatment in over 99% of replications. The interpretation of the results was insensitive to model and input assumptions., Conclusions: Compared with adjuvant chemotherapy, adjuvant icotinib may be a cost-effective treatment for resected stage II-IIIA EGFR-mutated NSCLC as the WTP threshold is set at $40 500 per QALY., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Purpose: Nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with brain metastases (BM) have a poor prognosis. Despite the traditional methods including radiotherapy and chemotherapy, epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs) might benefit patients on survival and quality of life. We investigated the cost-effectiveness of icotinib compared with whole-brain irradiation (WBI) with or without chemotherapy for NSCLC patients with BM., Materials and Methods: A Markov model was conducted based on the data of BRAIN trial. We compared the economic benefit between icotinib and the combination of WBI and WBI plus chemotherapy group. We considered disease progression as intracranial progression and overall progression separately. Sensitivity analyses were performed to observe the stability of the model. The willingness-to-pay (WTP) was set as 3× per capita gross domestic product ($25929/quality-adjusted life year [QALY]) from the Chinese healthcare perspective., Results: When considering progression as intracranial progression and overall progression, respectively, the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was $14 882.64/QALY and $13 484.21/QALY between icotinib and WBI/WBI-chemotherapy. Besides, both of the average cost-effective ratio (ACER) and net benefit showed advantage of icotinib (ACER: $34 521.42/QALY for intracranial progression and $36 562.63/QALY for overall progression; net benefit: -$8407.36 for intracranial progression and -$9836.41 for overall progression). One-way sensitivity analyses demonstrated that no thresholds were encountered. The probabilistic sensitivity analyses showed even at a WTP under $18 000/QALY, icotinib could be cost-effective., Conclusion: Icotinib was cost-effective compared with WBI with or without chemotherapy., (© 2020 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.)

Tyrosine kinase inhibitors of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) are becoming the standard treatment option for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring an EGFR mutation, but the economic impact of this practice is unclear, especially in a health resource-limited setting. A decision-analytic model was developed to simulate 21-day patient transitions in a 10-year time horizon. The health and economic outcomes of four first-line strategies (pemetrexed plus cisplatin [PC] alone, PC followed by maintenance with pemetrexed, or initial treatment with gefitinib or icotinib) among patients harboring EGFR mutations were estimated and assessed via indirect comparisons. Costs in the Chinese setting were estimated. The primary outcome was the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER). Sensitivity analyses were performed. The icotinib strategy resulted in greater health benefits than the other three strategies in NSCLC patients harboring EGFR mutations. Relative to PC alone, PC followed by pemetrexed maintenance, gefitinib and icotinib resulted in ICERs of $104,657, $28,485 and $19,809 per quality-adjusted life-year gained, respectively. The cost of pemetrexed, the EGFR mutation prevalence and the utility of progression-free survival were factors that had a considerable impact on the model outcomes. When the icotinib Patient Assistance Program was available, the economic outcome of icotinib was more favorable. These results indicate that gene-guided therapy with icotinib might be a more cost-effective treatment option than traditional chemotherapy.

Epidermal growth factor receptor gene (EGFR) mutation status has emerged as a crucial issue in lung cancer management. Availability and cost of tests and tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) may vary as a function of country development.We conducted a prospective specialist opinion survey to map EGFR test and EGFR-TKI availability and detect associations with the Human Development Index (HDI). A questionnaire was sent to specialists in thoracic oncology in all United Nations Member States.We obtained responses from 74 countries, comprising 78% of the worldwide population. Nonresponding countries had significantly lower HDI rank than responding countries. EGFR mutation analysis was routinely available in 57 countries (70% of the worldwide population). The cost of the test was

Background: Our objective is to compare the cost-utility of icotinib and gefitinib for the second-line treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) from the perspective of the Chinese healthcare system., Methods: Model technology was applied to assess the data of randomized clinical trials and the direct medical costs from the perspective of the Chinese healthcare system. Five-year quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) and incremental cost-utility ratios (ICURs) were calculated. One-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses (PSA) were performed., Results: Our model suggested that the median progression-free survival (PFS) was 4.2 months in the icotinib group and 3.5 months in the gefitinib group while they were 4.6 months and 3.4 months, respectively, in the trials. The 5-year QALYs was 0.279 in the icotinib group and 0.269 in the gefitinib group, and the according medical costs were $10662.82 and $13127.57. The ICUR/QALY of icotinib versus gefitinib presented negative in this study. The most sensitive parameter to the ICUR was utility of PFS, ranging from $-1,259,991.25 to $-182,296.61; accordingly the icotinib treatment consistently represented a dominant cost-utility strategy., Conclusions: The icotinib strategy, as a second-line therapy for advanced NSCLC patients in China, is the preferred strategy relative to gefitinib because of the dominant cost-utility. In addition, icotinib shows a good curative effect and safety, resulting in a strong demand for the Chinese market.