Appraising the Costs of Genomic Testing for Histology-Independent Technologies: An Illustrative Example for NTRK Fusions

Jul 1, 2022, 00:00 AM
10.1016/j.jval.2021.11.1359
https://www.valueinhealthjournal.com/article/S1098-3015(21)03190-9/fulltext
Section Title : HEALTH POLICY ANALYSIS
Section Order : 1133
First Page : 1133

Objectives

Histology-independent (HI) technologies are authorized for patients with advanced or metastatic cancer if they express a particular biomarker regardless of its position in the body. Although this represents an important advancement in cancer treatment, genomic testing to identify eligible individuals for HI technologies will require substantial investment and impact their cost-effectiveness. Estimating these costs is complicated by several issues, which affect not only the overall cost of testing but also the distribution of testing costs across tumor types.

Methods

Key issues that should be considered when evaluating the cost of genomic testing to identify those eligible for HI technologies are discussed. These issues are explored in illustrative analyses where costs of genomic testing for NTRK fusions in England for recently approved HI technologies are estimated.

Results

The prevalence of mutation, testing strategy adopted, and current testing provision affect the cost of identifying eligible patients. The illustrative analysis estimated the cost of RNA-based next-generation sequencing to identify 1 individual with an NTRK fusion ranged between £377 and £282 258. To improve cost-effectiveness, testing costs could be shared across multiple technologies. An estimated additional ∼4000 patients would need to be treated with other HI therapies for testing in patients with advanced or metastatic cancer to be cost-effective.

Conclusions

The cost of testing to identify individuals eligible for HI technologies affect the drug’s cost-effectiveness. The cost of testing across tumor types varies owing to heterogeneity in the mutation’s prevalence and current testing provision. The cost-effectiveness of HI technologies may be improved if testing costs could be shared across multiple agents.

https://www.valueinhealthjournal.com/action/showCitFormats?pii=S1098-3015(21)03190-9&doi=10.1016/j.jval.2021.11.1359
HEOR Topics :
  • Cost/Cost of Illness/Resource Use Studies
  • Economic Evaluation
  • Genetic, Regenerative & Curative Therapies
  • Oncology
  • Personalized & Precision Medicine
  • Specialized Treatment Areas
  • Specific Diseases & Conditions
Tags :
  • cancer
  • decision making
  • genomic testing
  • health technology appraisal
  • histology independent technologies
  • targeted therapies
Regions :
  • Western Europe