Potential Cost Savings of Oral Versus Intravenous Etoposide in the Treatment of Small Cell Lung Cancer

An economic analysis was conducted on a randomised multicentre study comparing the use of intravenous (IV) etoposide versus oral etoposide treatment regimens in patients with small cell lung cancer. 41 patients received cisplatin 100 mg/m² intravenously (IV) on study day 1 and etoposide 120 mg/m² IV on study days 1, 2, and 3 (IV regimen); and 42 patients received cisplatin 100 mg/m² IV and etoposide 120 mg/m² IV on study day 1 and 240 mg/m² orally (equivalent to 120 mg/m² IV) on study days 2 and 3 (oral regimen). The results of the study from which these data were extracted showed equal efficacy between groups. Based on a retrospective review of resource use in the clinical trial, patient healthcare costs were examined in the following areas: antineoplastic drugs, IV fluids, supplies used for chemotherapy administration, and chemotherapy administration procedure fees. The total cost per course of therapy was $US2002 for the IV regimen and $US1653 for the oral regimen. This represented a 17% savings for patients receiving the oral regimen.