Research projects
Comparative cost-effectiveness of cabozantinib as second-line therapy for patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma in Germany and the U.S.
Principal investigator: apl. Prof. Dr. Michael Hartmann
2019 - 2020
It could be shown that the TKI cabozantinib inhibits both VEGFR and MET and thus stabilization of the disease was achieved in 76% of sorafenib-resistant HCCs. In June 2019, the Federal Joint Committee (GBA) decided that cabozantinib had a minor additional benefit compared to the BSC in the second-line treatment of advanced HCCs. Nevertheless, the question remained whether cabozantinib is a cost-effective drug from the point of view of the statutory health insurance. Therefore, the aim of this research project was to develop a Markov model to determine the costs per year of life gained and quality-adjusted year of life and to carry out an international comparison with the USA. The results show that cabozantinib is not a cost-effective therapy for the treatment of advanced HCC in either the U.S. or Germany.