Cost-effectiveness analysis of camrelizumab in the second-line treatment for advanced or metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in China

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of camrelizumab versus chemotherapy as second-line treatment for patients with advanced/metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) from the perspective of the Chinese healthcare system. METHODS: A trial-based Markov model was constructed using Excel to integrate clinical and economic data in a hypothetical cohort of advanced/metastatic ESCC patients with a 5-year time horizon. Clinical inputs were derived directly from the ESCORT trial (NCT03099382). Weibull distribution was used to fit transition probabilities extracted from the Kaplan-Meier curves. Cost inputs were estimated from the Beijing Medicine Sunshine Purchasing official website, local charges, publications and expert opinions. Deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed to test the robustness of the model results. RESULTS: At 5 years, camrelizumab had higher quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) (0.782 vs. 0.499) and higher cost (US$31,537 vs. US$6,998) than chemotherapy. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) was estimated to be US$86,745 per QALY gained. The two primary parameters upon which this result was most sensitive were median overall survival of camrelizumab and camrelizumab cost. At a willingness-to-pay threshold of three times per capita gross domestic product (US$30,094 per QALY gained), the probability of camrelizumab being cost-effective was 33.7%. CONCLUSIONS: Camrelizumab was not cost-effective as a second-line treatment for advanced/metastatic ESCC patients in China compared with chemotherapy.