Health and productivity benefits of anti-PD-(L)1 agents for early-stage cancer treatment in Hungary
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: AIM: Anti-PD-(L)1 agents, inhibitors of programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) or its ligand (PD-L1), are established therapies that improve cancer management as well as the disease and societal burden of specific metastatic and early-stage cancers. The aim of the study was to determine the impact of adopting anti-PD-(L)1 agents for the treatment of all eligible patients with early-stage cancers versus reserving anti-PD-(L)1 agents for patients with metastatic disease alone in Hungary. METHODS: (ESD scenario) of melanoma (stage IIB-C and III), renal cell carcinoma (RCC), and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) versus a reference scenario where anti-PD-(L)1 agents were only used to treat metastatic disease cases in Hungary (2024-2033). A Markov-modeling approach estimated the health outcomes and productivity losses from each scenario from a societal perspective. Outcomes included recurrence-/event-/disease-free life-years, total life-years, quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), productive years (patients and caregivers), recurrences/events, active treatments for metastatic disease, and deaths. The cumulative health and productivity impact of ESD treatment with anti-PD-(L)1 agents in Hungary was the difference in health and productivity outcomes between the ESD and reference scenarios for the time horizon of the model. RESULTS: ESD treatment with anti-PD-(L)1 agents was estimated to increase recurrence-/event-/disease-free life-years (+13.8%), total life-years (+3.7%), and QALYs (+4.7%), as well as productive work years for patients (+39.6%) and caregivers (+27.6%). Concurrently, there would be fewer recurrences/events (-31.0%), active treatments for metastatic disease (-34.0%), post-recurrence deaths (-30.3%), and total deaths (-23.1%). CONCLUSION: Investing in anti-PD-(L)1 agents for early-stage disease may not only increase the life expectancy and QALYs for patients in Hungary but also increase productive work years for both patients and caregivers in Hungary. In addition, it may also help to reduce metastatic disease treatments and cancer-related deaths.
Source: Journal of Medical Economics
Authors: Daniel Ladino, Karl Patterson, Máté Várnai, Éva Balogh, Vivek Khurana, Raquel Aguiar-Ibáñez
Institution: Merck Canada Inc. (Canada)
Language: English
Subfield: Economics and Econometrics
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
Funders: Merck KGaA, Merck Canada
OpenAlex ID: W7130346938