Economic burden in treated Japanese patients with relapsed/refractory large B-cell lymphoma
This research article, recently published in our partner journal Future Oncology, aims to discover the existing standard of care for relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma from the perspective of treatment patterns and economic burden associated with second (2L) and third (3L) lines of therapy. For the secondary objective the authors attempted to assess how the COVID-19 pandemic may have affected the standard of care in Japan. The study identified 2,927 and 1,085 patients in the 2L and 3L cohorts. The median ages for the 2L and 3L cohorts were 71 and 70 years, respectively, with Charlson Comorbidity Score of 3. The authors found that the median length of stay for the 2L and 3L cohorts were 118 and 116 days and the majority of costs were attributed to inpatient costs. There was no notable difference in the cost of end-of-life care between the 2L and 3L cohorts. In addition, there were limited observed differences in healthcare resource utilization (HCRU) between pre- and post- COVID-19 pandemic onset.
Abstract
Aim: To understand economic burden of relapsed and refractory large B-cell lymphoma patients in Japan treated with salvage chemotherapy.
Materials & Methods: Patients who received systemic therapy after first-line were analyzed to assess its associated cost and resource use using a retrospective claims database. The impact of COVID-19 was separately assessed.
Results & Conclusion: This study identified 2,927 and 1,085 patients in the second (2L) and third line (3L) cohorts. The median ages for the 2L and 3L cohorts were 71 and 70 years, respectively, with Charlson Comorbidity Score of 3. A majority of the patients had limited stem cell transplant due to advanced age. Median inpatient length of stay (LOS) for the 2L and 3L cohorts were 118 and 116 days. The majority of costs were attributed to inpatient costs and limited COVID-19 impact was observed in this study.
