Aim: The objective of the study was to estimate the cost of first line chemotherapy in metastatic colorectal cancer treated in the Gustave-Roussy Institute. Patients were randomized in the study FFCD 9601 with four schedules of treatment: Tomudex(R), 5FU weekly, LV5FU2 with low dose of folinic acid and LV5FU2 with high dose of folinic acid.
Patients and methods: Thirty three patients were included prospectively from March 1997 to April 1999. Healthcare costs took into account drug-regimen related costs (cost of the drugs and its preparation, drug administration, laboratory tests, transport from and to hospital), non-drug-regimen related hospitalization costs (treatment of chemotherapy related side effects, radiologic tests, hospital outpatient visits, transport from and to hospital) and surgery costs. Costs were derived from the accounting system in the Gustave-Roussy Institute. Non medical costs were not taken into account in this study.
Results: The median overall cost per 4 weeks was 6,343 FF with LV5FU2 low dose, 9,968 FF with LV5FU2 high dose, 15,340 FF with 5FU weekly and 28,810 FF with Tomudex(R). This overcost is explained by a more expensive price and greater toxicity: 12 grade 3-4 toxicity and 9 hospitalizations (including one in intensive care unit for the 8 treated patients) for Tomudex(R) despite a lower cost for the administration of the drug. Weekly 5FU was the most expensive among the 5FU schedules because of its dose and frequency of administration.
Conclusions: The cost of first line chemotherapy in metastatic cancer colorectal is high (6,000 FF minimum per 4 weeks of treatment). Tomudex, a recent and expensive drug, seems to be more toxic. In this study, toxicity was probably overestimated due to the small number of patients. More patients are necessary in order to better estimate the cost of toxicity of these chemotherapies.