Project 466564

Background: Lung cancer is the most commonly diagnosed and leading cause of cancer death in Canada. Novel treatments like pembrolizumab (PEM) fall under a novel treatment class called immunotherapy. Immunotherapies have brought great improvements to clinical outcomes like survival and quality of life, but are associated with high costs as well. If Canada is to continue providing the newest, most innovative treatments, we must have accurate information regarding the cost effectiveness (CE) and expected resource use within the disease setting to ensure the sustainability of the healthcare system.Objective: To determine the CE and economic burden of all therapies indicated in the treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in Canada. The starting point of this project will be to conduct a CE analysis of PEM in the Canadian setting. Methods: The CE analysis of PEM will use the most recent survival and quality of life outcomes from the KEYNOTE-024 phase III clinical trial. Extrapolation of long-term survival outcomes will use a novel Bayesian averaging approach. The results of the CE analysis can then be used in conjunction with Canadian epidemiological data to estimate the economic burden of providing this care. Similar methodologies can then be used for other therapies indicated for the treatment of advanced NSCLC to estimate the total economic burden of providing care. Significance: As Canada faces increasing budget constraints, information regarding expected resource consumption will be invaluable. The results of this project will be integral to inform healthcare policy and efficient resource planning. It can also identify which therapies are the most cost effective in this setting, which can help to generate cost effective treatment guidelines.