Healthcare costs of metastatic cutaneous melanoma in the era of immunotherapeutic and targeted drugs

Abstract

Immunotherapeutic and targeted drugs improved survival of patients with metastatic melanoma. There is, however, a lack of evidence regarding their healthcare costs in clinical practice. The aim of our study was to provide insight into real-world healthcare costs of patients with metastatic cutaneous melanoma. Data were obtained from the Dutch Melanoma Treatment Registry for patients who were registered between July 2012 and December 2018. Mean total/monthly costs per patient were reported for all patients, patients who did not receive systemic therapy, and patients who received systemic therapy. Furthermore, mean episode/monthly costs per line of therapy and drug were reported for patients who received systemic therapy. Mean total/monthly costs were Euro 89,240/Euro 6809: Euro 7988/Euro 2483 for patients who did not receive systemic therapy (n = 784) and Euro 105,078/Euro 7652 for patients who received systemic therapy (n = 4022). Mean episode/monthly costs were the highest for nivolumab plus ipilimumab (Euro 79,675/Euro 16,976), ipilimumab monotherapy (Euro 79,110/Euro 17,252), and dabrafenib plus trametinib (Euro 77,053/Euro 12,015). Dacarbazine yielded the lowest mean episode/monthly costs (Euro 6564/Euro 2027). Our study showed that immunotherapeutic and targeted drugs had a large impact on real-world healthcare costs. As new drugs continue entering the treatment landscape for (metastatic) melanoma, it remains crucial to monitor whether the benefits of these drugs outweigh their costs.