Interventional arterial chemotherapy versus sorafenib for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma in China: a health economic evaluation of open-label, randomised, phase 3 study.

OBJECTIVES

This post hoc study aimed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of hepatic artery infusion chemotherapy (HAIC) with fluorouracil, leucovorin and oxaliplatin (HAIC-FO) compared with sorafenib in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The analysis was conducted from the perspective of Chinese payers.

DESIGN

A cost-effectiveness analysis was performed using a Markov model derived from data obtained in the FOHAIC-1 trial (phase 3 randomised controlled trial; conducted 2017-2020).

SETTING

The study was conducted in tertiary care centres in China.

PARTICIPANTS

The study included advanced HCC patients enrolled in the FOHAIC-1 trial. Inclusion criteria followed the trial protocols, with patients stratified by disease severity (including the presence of Vp4 portal vein tumour thrombus (PVTT) and high tumour burden).

INTERVENTIONS

HAIC-FO (fluorouracil, leucovorin and oxaliplatin) was compared with sorafenib for cost and health outcomes.

PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURE

The primary outcome was the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER), calculated as the additional cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained.

RESULTS

Sorafenib yielded 0.66 QALYs at a cost of $15 011.73, whereas HAIC-FO yielded 1.00 QALY at a cost of $18 470.98. The ICER of HAIC-FO compared with sorafenib was $10 235.56 per QALY, which was below the willingness-to-pay (WTP) threshold of $30 492.00 per QALY. Sensitivity analyses confirmed that HAIC-FO remained cost-effective across variable assumptions, with probabilistic sensitivity analysis showing a 99.9% probability of cost-effectiveness at the WTP threshold. Subgroup analyses demonstrated more favourable ICERs for patients with Vp4 PVTT ($7003.33 per QALY) and those with high tumour burden ($7382.86 per QALY).

CONCLUSIONS

HAIC-FO is a more cost-effective treatment for advanced HCC than sorafenib from the Chinese payer's perspective, particularly in patients with Vp4 PVTT and/or high tumour burden. Further research is needed to explore long-term economic implications and real-world effectiveness data.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

NCT03164382.