In this study, compared to sunitinib as one of the available treatment options, we aimed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab or everolimus as first-line treatment for advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) patients in a Chinese health system setting.
A partitioned survival model was developed to simulate patient disease and death. Transition probabilities and adverse reaction data were obtained from the CLEAR trial. The utility value was derived from literature. Costs were based on the Chinese drug database and local charges. Sensitivity analyses and were performed to assess the robustness of the model. Outcomes were measured as quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), cumulative cost (COST), and incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER).
The model predicted that the expected mean result in the lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab group (2.60 QALYs) was superior to that in the sunitinib group (2.13 QALYs) to obtain 0.47 QALYs, but the corresponding cost was 1,253,130 yuan greater, resulting in an ICER of 2,657,025 RMB/QALYs. Compared with the sunitinib group, the lenvatinib plus everolimus group (2.17 QALYs) gained 0.04 QALYs, with an additional cost of 32,851 yuan, resulting in an ICER of 77,6202 RMB/QALYs.
Lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab or everolimus has no economic advantage over sunitinib in treating advanced RCC in the Chinese healthcare system.