Estimated Costs of the Ipilimumab–Nivolumab Therapy and Related Adverse Events in Metastatic Melanoma

SIMPLE SUMMARY: In stage IV melanoma, the combination of ipilimumab and nivolumab improves outcomes compared to single agents. However, it bears an important financial impact on the healthcare system. In this manuscript, we analyze the costs related to the ipilimumab–nivolumab combination, focusing on the immune-related adverse events (irAE) in a real-world setting. Surprisingly, we found that the toxicity cost of ipilimumab and nivolumab are insignificant compared to the total cost of the treatment. Additionally, patients with a Grade 3–4 toxicity have lower costs and better outcomes than patients with Grade 1–2 irAEs. Finally, medication and disease-related hospitalization costs are the major costs of the treatment. These findings are important information for clinicians and healthcare organizations for treatment decisions in immunotherapy. ABSTRACT: Combined ipilimumab and nivolumab significantly improve outcomes in metastatic melanoma patients but bear an important financial impact on the healthcare system. Here, we analyze the treatment costs, focusing on irAE. We conducted a retrospective analysis of 62 melanoma patients treated with ipilimumab–nivolumab at the Lausanne University Hospital between 1 June 2016 and 31 August 2019. The frequency of irAEs and outcomes were evaluated. All melanoma-specific costs were analyzed from the first ipilimumab–nivolumab dose until the therapy given subsequently or death. A total of 54/62 (87%) patients presented at least one irAE, and 31/62 (50%) presented a grade 3–4 irAE. The majority of patients who had a complete response 12/14 (86%) and 21/28 (75%) of overall responders presented a grade 3–4 toxicity, and there were no responses in patients without toxicity. Toxicity costs represented only 3% of the total expenses per patient. The most significant contributions were medication costs (44%) and disease costs (39%), mainly disease-related hospitalization costs, not toxicity-related. Patients with a complete response had the lowest global median cost per week of follow up (EUR 2425) and patients who had progressive disease (PD), the highest one (EUR 8325). Except for one patient who had a Grade 5 toxicity (EUR 6043/week), we observe that less severe toxicity grades (EUR 9383/week for Grade 1), or even the absence of toxicity (EUR 9922/week), are associated with higher median costs per week (vs. EUR 3266/week for Grade 4 and EUR 2850/week for Grade 3). The cost of toxicities was unexpectedly low compared to the total costs, especially medication costs. Patients with higher toxicity grades had better outcomes and lower total costs due to treatment discontinuation.