THE DIRECT COSTS BURDEN OF BEVACIZUMAB IN SOUTH-WEST ROMANIA

As costs for cancer treatment increase with the reimbursement of new treatments and increasing of patients' number, prevention and prior detection efforts become even more cost-effective and potentially cost saving. The global economic burden of cancer is mostly unknown. Even though bevacizumab is one of the most prescribed and used angiogenesis inhibitors, it is among the most expensive drugs. This study aimed to generate statistical analyses of the total amounts reimbursed by the Romanian National Health Insurance Fund for treating cancer with Avastin (R) in Dolj County, Romania, from January 1st, 2020 to March 31st, 2021. We aimed to estimate the real-world incremental costs associated with the use of bevacizumab for metastatic breast cancer, advanced non-small cell lung cancer, metastatic cancer of the colon or rectum, ovarian cancer, advanced renal cell cancer, and cervical cancer. From the total of 351 patients treated with bevacizumab, 114 (31.67%) had colon cancer and 69 (19.17%) had rectum cancer. After we investigated the economic burden of bevacizumab, we observed the highest percentage for the malignant tumour of the colon from all the direct costs. We compared the costs of bevacizumab treatment on diseases and months, observing the highest burden for colon cancer in almost all the months. Molecules such as bevacizumab are adding an appreciable cost burden to the public funded Health Care System and more studies that evaluate their cost-effectiveness are needed.

Automated summary

As the cost of cancer treatment increases, prevention and early detection efforts are becoming more cost-effective. This study focused on analyzing the reimbursement amounts for Avastin (bevacizumab) treatment of various types of cancer in Dolj County, Romania, and estimated the incremental costs associated with its use. The findings highlight the high economic burden of colon cancer treatment with bevacizumab.