Presentation (CTI)

OBJECTIVES: Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the most prevalent adult leukemia in Europe. As CLL primarily affects retired, elderly individuals, conventional wage-based approaches fail to estimate the full socioeconomic burden. This study provides the first comprehensive pan-European estimation of the socioeconomic burden of CLL in 43 countries.
METHODS: Disability-adjusted life years (DALY) and years of life lost (YLL) due to CLL in 2023 were sourced from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation Global Burden of Disease dataset. For each country, DALY and YLL values were multiplied by country-specific gross domestic product (GDP) per capita to estimate monetized outcomes. A scenario analysis estimated monetized outcomes using country-specific value of a statistical life year (VSLY) in place of GDP per capita, to capture a broader valuation of a society’s willingness-to-pay for healthy life. GDP per capita and VSLY reflect the productivity or value of a year of life across all ages and were used to reflect the full demographic impact of CLL. Costs are reported in 2024 euros (€).
RESULTS: In 2023, CLL was associated with a total of 283,406 DALYs and 247,104 YLL across Europe. The DALY-related economic burden was estimated at €9.8B when valued using GDP per capita, of which €8.4B was due to YLL. The EU5 (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) accounted for 61% of the DALY-related economic burden in Europe using the GDP per capita-based valuation, totaling €6.0B. The scenario analysis estimated a DALY-related economic impact of €21.2B when valued with VSLY. In this scenario, the EU5 contributed 63% of the DALY economic burden, totaling €13.2B.
CONCLUSIONS: CLL imposes a large socioeconomic burden across Europe. The persisting burden despite a decade of targeted therapies, combined with documented inequalities in access to the novel agents, underscores the need for expanded and equitable reimbursement of new CLL treatments across Europe.