Cost–effectiveness of BTK inhibitors vs bendamustine and rituximab in chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients.

Background: We aimed to compare the cost–effectiveness of bruton tyrosine kinase inhibors (BTKis) versus bendamustine–rituximab (R-bendamustine) as a first-line treatment for Chinese patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Methods: A partitioned survival model was constructed using TreeAge Pro 2022 software and transition probabilities were estimated from the reported survival probabilities using parametric survival modeling. One-way analysis and probabilistic sensitivity analysis were performed to explore the uncertainty of the modeling results. In addition, several scenario analyses were evaluated. Results: In comparison to R-bendamustine, zanubrutinib had an incremental cost–effectiveness ratio (ICER; life years) and ICER (quality-adjusted life years) of US$12,173.38 and $17,983.40, respectively. While ibrutinib had a higher ICER relative to R-bendamustine. Conclusion: Zanubrutinib was cost-effective for patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia in China. We studied the cost–effectiveness of BTK inhibitors versus bendamustine and rituximab in relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients, finding that zanubrutinib was cost effective compared with ibrutinib and bendamustine and rituximab. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]