BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Cancer patients are at elevated risk of cancer-associated thrombosis (CAT). Randomized controlled trials have found that direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) are associated with fewer recurrent venous thromboembolism (VTE) events and an increased risk of bleeding than low molecular weight heparins (LMWHs) in CAT. With new clinical data available, this study aims to assess the comparative cost-effectiveness of DOACs and LMWHs over 6- and 60-month treatment durations from the US healthcare system and societal perspectives.
Methods: A Markov model for cancer patients eligible to receive rivaroxaban, edoxaban, apixaban, enoxaparin, or dalteparin was used to conduct a cost-utility analysis. Clinical scenarios were analyzed based on 6- and 60-month time horizons from the US healthcare system and societal perspectives. The main outcome was the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER), expressed as cost in US dollars per quality-adjusted life year (QALY). One-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed to evaluate the robustness of the results.
Results: DOACs were cost-saving and clinically superior to LMWHs and were associated with a cost change ranging from - $9134.66 to - $15,281.92 and incremental effectiveness of 0.43-1.25 QALYs among four clinical scenarios. The most influential model inputs for ICER were the utility associated with LMWH use and probabilities of non-VTE and non-bleeding related death. Probabilistic sensitivity analyses were consistent with the results.
Conclusions: DOACs were found to dominate LMWHs, suggesting that DOACs may be a cost-effective alternative to LMWHs for CAT. This study can help inform decision-makers on the cost-effectiveness of anticoagulation strategies and help in the development of future practice recommendations for cancer patients.
© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.