Cost-effectiveness of polatuzumab vedotin in combination with chemoimmunotherapy (pola-R-CHP) in previously untreated diffuse large B-cell lymphoma in Germany

We evaluated the cost-effectiveness of frontline polatuzumab vedotin-R-CHP (pola-R-CHP) treatment for patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) in Germany by using a Markov model (lifetime horizon). Progression rates and survival outcomes were extrapolated from the POLARIX trial. Outcomes were measured in incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERS) with a willingness-to-pay (WTP) threshold of €80 000/quality-adjusted life-years (QALY). Assuming, 69.6% 5-year PFS with pola-R-CHP and 62.6% 5-year PFS with R-CHOP, the addition of polatuzumab vedotin resulted in an additional 0.52 life-years and an incremental 0.65 QALYs but €31 988 additional cost. Based on this, pola-R-CHP was cost-effective (€49 238/QALY) at a WTP of €80 000/QALY. The cost-effectiveness of pola-R-CHP is highly dependent on its long-term outcomes and cost. Our analysis is limited by the fact that the long-term outcomes of pola-R-CHP are unknown at this time.