The choice of treatment is a major factor in determining healthcare costs associated with MCC, with the highest costs in patients receiving chemotherapy. Patients with MCC often exhibit comorbidities, and both HRU and healthcare costs increase significantly with each comorbidity level.
Purpose
Clinical trial evidence has affirmed the role for immuno-oncology (IO) treatment for locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma (la/mUC). This Study informing treatment Pathway dEcision in bladder cAnceR (SPEAR-Bladder) aimed to provide insight into the optimal sequencing of IO treatments among la/mUC patients treated in the US Oncology Network.
Patients and Methods
This was a retrospective analysis of adult patients with la/mUC who initiated first-line chemotherapy followed by either IO therapy (C-IO subgroup) or chemotherapy (C-C subgroup) between 01/01/2015 and 04/30/2017 and included a potential follow-up period through 06/30/2017. Data were sourced from iKnowMed electronic health records. Patient and treatment characteristics were assessed descriptively, with Kaplan–Meier methods used to evaluate time-to-event outcomes, including overall survival (OS).
Results
A total of 117 patients were included in this analysis (median age 69 years, 74.4% male, 88.0% Caucasian): 79 and 38 patients were in the C-IO and C-C subgroups, respectively. The median OS was 19.2 months among patients who received the C-IO sequence and 11.9 months among those who received the C-C treatment sequence.
Conclusion
These results suggest that patients who received the C-IO treatment sequence had notable improvement in OS compared with those who received the C-C sequence. In light of the rapidly evolving therapeutic landscape, further investigation will be required to determine how best to select the optimal therapeutic regimen and sequencing for patients with la/mUC.
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