PMCID: 6198045 (link)
Year: 2018
Reviewer Paper ID: 8
Project Paper ID: 34
Q1 - Title(show question description)
Explanation: The title of the manuscript clearly states that it is an economic evaluation and specifies the interventions being compared, which are combination therapy versus monotherapy for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). This aligns with the content and focus of the study as detailed in the manuscript.
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Title: Economic Evaluation of Combination Therapy Versus Monotherapy for Treatment of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia in Hong Kong.
Q2 - Abstract(show question description)
Explanation: The abstract does not provide a clearly structured summary that includes all elements of context, key methods, results, and alternative analyses. While it covers the background, results, and conclusion briefly, it lacks explicit mention of alternative analyses and a detailed summary of key methods used in the study.
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Background: Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) suggestive of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a common condition affecting men. Studies have shown that the prevalence of LUTS/BPH increases with age, which will cause considerable economic burden to the healthcare system and society.
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The aim of the present study was to evaluate the long term cost effectiveness of dutasteride and tamsulosin therapy compared to tamsulosin alone in men with BPH in Hong Kong.
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Methods: A Markov decision model was constructed to estimate the economic impact from a healthcare payers' perspective, which only included direct costs. Analyses were conducted for a 4-year time frame.
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Results: When compared to tamsulosin alone, combination therapy was more expensive but also more effective in preventing complications and reduced the need for surgery. Over life-time projection suggest that combination therapy will be cost-effective if the willingness-to pay threshold of USD 20,000.
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Conclusion: Findings of this study found that combination therapy of tamsulosin and dutasteride was more cost-effective compared to tamsulosin alone across a wide range of scenario.
Q3 - Background and objectives(show question description)
Explanation: The introduction section provides a detailed context for the study, clearly stating the prevalence and significance of LUTS/BPH, the treatment options, and their economic implications. It outlines the practical relevance of evaluating cost-effectiveness for decision-making in healthcare policy and practice, particularly in the context of increasing healthcare costs and an aging population.
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Lower urinary tract symptom (LUTS) suggestive of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a common condition among middle-aged to elderly men.
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It is characterized by a cluster of chronic urinary symptoms in the bladder, prostate, and a major cause of benign prostatic hyperplasia.
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In terms of economic burden, BPH/LUTS is associated with high personal and societal costs, which are evident in direct medical costs and indirect losses in daily functioning, and through its negative impact on quality of life (QoL) for both patients and partners.
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As the prevalence of BPH/LUTS increases with age, the burden on the healthcare system and society may increase due to the aging population.
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In view of this, the objective of our study was to evaluate the long-term cost-effectiveness of oral, daily, single-dose combination therapy dutasteride/tamsulosin (Duodart ) compared with oral, daily tamsulosin 0.4 mg in Hong Kong (HK).
Q4 - Health economic analysis plan(show question description)
Explanation: The manuscript does not provide any information about the development of a health economic analysis plan, nor does it mention its availability.
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Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analyzed during the current study.
Q5 - Study population(show question description)
Explanation: The article describes that the study population is a hypothetical cohort of patients aged 50 and above with a clinical diagnosis of BPH, which aligns with the greater BPH patient population in Asia and matches the typical age group in clinical trials.
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The model population is consistent with the entry criteria for the CombAT trial, i.e., the hypothetical cohort of patients >=50 year of age with a BPH clinical diagnosis by medical history and physical examination.
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This age group was representative of BPH patient population in Asia and the most commonly studied age group in clinical trials.
Q6 - Setting and location(show question description)
Explanation: The manuscript provides relevant contextual information about the setting and location, which is Hong Kong. This contextual detail influences the study's findings due to local healthcare practices, costs, and population demographics.
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The aim of the present study was to evaluate the long term cost effectiveness of dutasteride and tamsulosin therapy compared to tamsulosin alone in men with BPH in Hong Kong.
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A Markov model was developed to project the overall cost-savings of combination therapy in a hypothetical cohort of 10,000 patients treated in the public healthcare sector of HK.
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The majority of the transition probabilities were derived from a cohort of 200 BPH patients from Prince of Wales Hospital.
Q7 - Comparators(show question description)
Explanation: The manuscript provides a detailed description of the interventions being compared—combination therapy of dutasteride and tamsulosin versus monotherapy of tamsulosin—and outlines the clinical and economic rationale for choosing these options for treating benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in Hong Kong. It details the clinical benefits observed in relevant trials and aligns these with international guidelines for treatment selection.
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"The main pharmacological agents for the management of LUTS are alpha-blockers and 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors (5ARIs). ... 5ARIs, which can be administered as monotherapy or in combination with alpha-blockers, are recommended for symptomatic men with an enlarged prostate and are associated with decreased risk of urinary retention and related surgery."
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"One of the major trials to support such recommendation is the Combination of AvodartTM (dutasteride) and tamsulosin (CombAT) trial. In this randomized- multicenter, double-blind, parallel-group study ... it was found that patients with a prostate volume ≥40 ml had a lower risk of disease progression, AUR, and BPH-related surgery in the groups receiving dutasteride or combination therapies than in the group receiving tamsulosin monotherapy."
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"The objective of our study was to evaluate the long-term cost-effectiveness of oral, daily, single-dose combination therapy dutasteride/tamsulosin (Duodart), compared with oral, daily tamsulosin 0.4 mg in Hong Kong (HK)."
Q8 - Perspective(show question description)
Explanation: The study explicitly adopted a healthcare payer's perspective and focused solely on direct costs. Other perspectives, such as societal perspectives which might include indirect costs, were not adopted for this study.
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A Markov decision model was constructed to estimate the economic impact from a healthcare payers' perspective, which only included direct costs.
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Thirdly, we didn't provide analysis from societal perspective which includes indirect costs associated with BPH patients.
Q9 - Time horizon(show question description)
Explanation: The manuscript does not provide explicit reasoning for why a 4-year time horizon was chosen as appropriate for the study. While it mentions a 4-year analysis based on some data, it is more descriptive of the model's execution rather than discussing its appropriateness.
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The analysis was performed from the healthcare payers' perspective, which only included direct costs. A cycle length of 1 year was adopted to capture the full effect of both intervention in terms of resource use and quality of life. In the base-case scenario, the model was simulated over 4 years, i.e., duration of the trial. To assess the sensitivity of the model results to the time horizon, the model was also run for 35 years, i.e., patients' life span.
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As shown in Table 3, the Markov microsimulation based on 10,000 iterations showed that, over 4 years, compared to tamsulosin, combination therapy could prevent 0.03 AURs (~27% reduction) per patient, 0.07 TURPs (~32% reduction) per patient, and 0.002 deaths (~3.5% reduction) over 4 years.
Q10 - Discount rate(show question description)
Explanation: The manuscript specifies the use of a 3% discount rate applied to both costs and outcomes. This choice is standard in health economic evaluations to account for the time preference of money and health benefits.
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A discount rate of 3% was applied to both cost and outcome.
Q11 - Selection of outcomes(show question description)
Explanation: The study uses quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) as a measure of benefit and examines costs associated with managing BPH, AUR, and TURP as outcomes for economic evaluation. It captures changes in medical intervention, surgical procedures (TURP), episodes of acute urinary retention (AUR), and mortality as key endpoints.
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Outcome measure is expressed as incremental cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained.
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compared to tamsulosin, combination therapy could prevent 0.03 AURs (~27% reduction) per patient, 0.07 TURPs (~32% reduction) per patient, and 0.002 deaths (~3.5% reduction) over 4 years.
Q12 - Measurement of outcomes(show question description)
Explanation: The manuscript does not describe how the specific outcomes used to capture benefits (like quality-adjusted life years or QALYs) and harms were measured. While QALYs were mentioned as a measure of outcome, there are no detailed explanations provided on how they were quantified or assessed in the study.
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Outcome measure is expressed as incremental cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained.
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In the model, QALYs were calculated by applying the utility to the survival duration of a patient from his/her health state.
Q13 - Valuation of outcomes(show question description)
Explanation: The study used a hypothetical cohort of 10,000 patients aged 50 and above, diagnosed with BPH, to measure economic impacts via a Markov decision model. Outcomes were valued using quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) and the cost-effectiveness was evaluated from the healthcare payer's perspective, considering direct costs over a 4-year period.
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A Markov model was developed to project the overall cost-savings of combination therapy in a hypothetical cohort of 10,000 patients treated in the public healthcare sector of HK.
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Outcome measure is expressed as incremental cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained.
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The analysis was performed from the healthcare payers' perspective, which only included direct costs.
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In the base-case scenario, the model was simulated over 4 years, i.e., duration of the trial.
Q14 - Measurement and valuation of resources and costs(show question description)
Explanation: The manuscript does not provide a detailed explanation of how the costs were valued beyond mentioning the sources from which the cost data were obtained. It states that costs include direct medical costs, but there is no comprehensive breakdown of valuation methodology specific to the study.
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"The analysis was performed from the healthcare payers' perspective, which only included direct costs."
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"The cost of combination therapy and tamsulosin were obtained from Prince of Wales Hospital."
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"Costs of management of BPH, AUR, TURP, and medical intervention were all solicited from Prince of Wales Hospital."
Q15 - Currency, price, date, and conversion(show question description)
Explanation: The manuscript states that the costs were converted and calculated using 2018 US dollars. The estimated resource quantities and unit costs dates are not explicitly stated, but the conversion year and currency for economic evaluation is specified.
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- 'Cost (per annum) (2018 US$)'
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- 'Average cost per patient of 10,000 population (US$ 2018)'
Q16 - Rationale and description of model(show question description)
Explanation: The manuscript describes the model used in the study in detail but does not mention whether the model is publicly available or where it can be accessed. It focuses on the rationale, assumptions, inputs, and simulation details of the model rather than its availability.
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A Markov model was developed to project the overall cost-savings of combination therapy in a hypothetical cohort of 10,000 patients treated in the public healthcare sector of HK.
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The model was implemented in TreeAge pro 2017 (TreeAge Software, Williamstown, MA, United States). A microsimulation of 10,000 patients was executed to enable the tracking of the number of clinical events.
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Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analyzed during the current study.
Q17 - Analytics and assumptions(show question description)
Explanation: The manuscript provides detailed information on the methods used for analyzing data, extrapolation, and model validation. It outlines the use of a Markov decision model, sensitivity analyses, and probabilistic sensitivity analysis using Monte Carlo simulations to validate the economic model.
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A Markov model was developed to project the overall cost-savings of combination therapy in a hypothetical cohort of 10,000 patients treated in the public healthcare sector of HK.
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Deterministic One-Way Sensitivity Analysis (OWSA) was conducted to identify key model parameters.
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A multivariate probabilistic sensitivity analysis was performed using second-order Monte Carlo simulation.
Q18 - Characterizing heterogeneity(show question description)
Explanation: The manuscript describes the use of both deterministic one-way sensitivity analysis (OWSA) and multivariate probabilistic sensitivity analysis to estimate variations in cost-effectiveness results across different sub-groups. These methods evaluate how changes to model parameters affect the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) estimates, helping understand the model's sensitivity to various assumptions and inputs.
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Deterministic One-Way Sensitivity Analysis (OWSA)
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"To identify key model parameters, OWSA was conducted over the range of pre-defined values of each parameter's point estimate (i.e., 95% confidence interval)."
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"Multivariate Probabilistic Sensitivity Analysis"
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"To assess the simultaneous influence of model parameters on the ICER, a multivariate probabilistic sensitivity analysis was performed using second-order Monte Carlo simulation (computational algorithm based on repeated random sampling of the probability distributions for each model parameter)."
Q19 - Characterizing distributional effects(show question description)
Explanation: The manuscript does not provide detailed evidence on how impacts were distributed across different individuals nor any adjustments for priority populations were made. The study uses a general hypothetical cohort model without differentiating subgroups within the population that might require prioritization.
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The model was structured according to the HK-specific treatment practice, and is shown in Figure 1. In the beginning of the simulation, patients start from BPH state. As time progresses, patients might remain in BPH state, transition between the symptom states, experience AUR, receive a surgical intervention (TURP), or die due to natural causes.
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The model population is consistent with the entry criteria for the CombAT trial, i.e., the hypothetical cohort of patients >=50 year of age with a BPH clinical diagnosis by medical history and physical examination.
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The analysis was performed from the healthcare payers' perspective, which only included direct costs. A cycle length of 1 year was adopted to capture the full effect of both intervention in terms of resource use and quality of life.
Q20 - Characterizing uncertainty(show question description)
Explanation: The manuscript uses deterministic one-way sensitivity analysis and multivariate probabilistic sensitivity analysis to characterize sources of uncertainty in the economic evaluation of BPH treatment.
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To identify key model parameters, OWSA was conducted over the range of pre-defined values of each parameter's point estimate (i.e., 95% confidence interval).
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To assess the simultaneous influence of model parameters on the ICER, a multivariate probabilistic sensitivity analysis was performed using second-order Monte Carlo simulation (computational algorithm based on repeated random sampling of the probability distributions for each model parameter).
Q21 - Approach to engagement with patients and others affected by the study(show question description)
Explanation: The manuscript does not provide any evidence that patients, service recipients, the general public, communities, or stakeholders were engaged in the design of the study. The study was based on a Markov model using secondary data sources and expert opinions, without any mention of direct engagement with these groups.
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A Markov model was developed to project the overall cost-savings of combination therapy in a hypothetical cohort of 10,000 patients treated in the public healthcare sector of HK.
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As such, ethical approval was not obtained since no patient was involved in this research.
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We subsequently had a discussion workshop to seek clinical experts' views on the disease progression pathway of BPH and to understand the use of different treatments in the local context.
Q22 - Study parameters(show question description)
Explanation: The manuscript reports all analytic inputs, including values, ranges, references, and uncertainty or distributional assumptions, as evident in the 'Methods' and 'Table' sections. Table 1 provides detailed parameter values, ranges, and sources, and the methods describe probability distributions and uncertainty handling.
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Model parameters including transition probabilities, efficacy, costs, and utilities were derived from HK-specific sources, literatures and assumptions based on clinical inputs.
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As summarized in Table 1, model parameters...
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The analysis was performed using deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses to account for parameter uncertainty, with specific details on distribution types and ranges.
Q23 - Summary of main results(show question description)
Explanation: The manuscript provides mean values for cost categories and outcomes, and these are summarized using the Incremental Cost-Effectiveness Ratio (ICER), which is a standard measure in economic evaluations to determine cost-effectiveness based on QALYs gained. This is confirmed by the results section which details costs and outcomes in terms of reductions in AUR, TURP, and associated costs, as well as QALYs gained.
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"Base-case results.", "The increased number of BPH (3.43) for combination therapy compared to that (3.3) of monotherapy was mainly due to the delayed progression of BPH patients to AUR and TURP health states. In addition, the analysis showed that a patient on combination therapy would experience more QALYs (3 vs. 2.93 QALYs) than those on monotherapy."
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"Markov microsimulation based on 10,000 iterations showed that, over 4 years, compared to tamsulosin, combination therapy could prevent 0.03 AURs (~27% reduction) per patient, 0.07 TURPs (~32% reduction) per patient, and 0.002 deaths."
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"As a result, replacing monotherapy by combination therapy was expected to lead to US$11,651 per QALY gained.", "The manuscript also provides a lifetime ICER of US$3,329 per QALY gained."]}
Q24 - Effect of uncertainty(show question description)
Explanation: The manuscript demonstrates that uncertainty was taken into account by performing a sensitivity analysis. It specifically reports the effects of the time horizon and discount rate on the outcomes, showing how these factors can influence the cost-effectiveness results.
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To assess the sensitivity of the model results to the time horizon, the model was also run for 35 years, i.e., patients' life span. A discount rate of 3% was applied to both cost and outcome.
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The OWSA showed that the top five most influential parameters on ICER were annual cost of tamsulosin/dutasteride, efficacy of tamsulosin/dutasteride against TURP, and probability of BPH patients who experienced AUR, cost of providing TURP procedure and utility of BPH.
Q25 - Effect of engagement with patients and others affected by the study(show question description)
Explanation: The manuscript does not involve any patient, service recipient, general public, community, or stakeholder participation in the approach or findings of the study. It is based on a Markov model using retrospective data and expert input, with no direct involvement from these groups.
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As such, ethical approval was not obtained since no patient was involved in this research.
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A Markov model was developed to project the overall cost-savings of combination therapy in a hypothetical cohort of 10,000 patients treated in the public healthcare sector of HK.
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The efficacy of the different interventions were derived from a 4-years, multicentre, randomized, double-blind, parallel-group CombaT clinical trial.
Q26 - Study findings, limitations, generalizability, and current knowledge(show questiondescription)
Explanation: The manuscript does not report ethical considerations or equity implications, nor does it directly address potential impacts on patients, policy, or practice. While it discusses the cost-effectiveness of the therapies, it lacks explicit analysis of ethical, equity, or broader impact aspects.
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The present study has several limitations. Firstly, in our Markov model, due to data availability, we did not separate the state of symptomatic BPH into patients with mild, moderate and severe symptoms...
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Secondly, we didn't model the occurrence of adverse events because, as reported in the ComBAT trial, the incidences of adverse events were very similar between combination therapy and monotherapy...
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Thirdly, we didn't provide analysis from societal perspective which includes indirect costs associated with BPH patients...
SECTION: TITLE
Economic Evaluation of Combination Therapy Versus Monotherapy for Treatment of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia in Hong Kong
SECTION: ABSTRACT
Background: Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) suggestive of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a common condition affecting men. Studies have shown that the prevalence of LUTS/BPH increases with age, which will cause considerable economic burden to the healthcare system and society. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the long term cost effectiveness of dutasteride and tamsulosin therapy compared to tamsulosin alone in men with BPH in Hong Kong.
Methods: A Markov decision model was constructed to estimate the economic impact from a healthcare payers' perspective, which only included direct costs. Analyses were conducted for a 4-year time frame.
Results: When compared to tamsulosin alone, combination therapy was more expensive but also more effective in preventing complications and reduced the need for surgery. Over life-time projection suggest that combination therapy will be cost-effective if the willingness-to pay threshold of USD 20,000.
Conclusion: Findings of this study found that combination therapy of tamsulosin and dutasteride was more cost-effective compared to tamsulosin alone across a wide range of scenario.
SECTION: INTRO
Introduction
Lower urinary tract symptom (LUTS) suggestive of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a common condition among middle-aged to elderly men. It is characterized by a cluster of chronic urinary symptoms in the bladder, prostate, and a major cause of benign prostatic hyperplasia. Population based studies suggested that nearly one in every four men aged 50 and above is affected by LUTS. Similarly, a recent study found that 69.3% of community-dwelling men experienced moderate-to-severe symptoms on International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) in Hong Kong. Without proper treatment, LUTS can present with complications, such as acute urinary retention (AUR), urinary tract infections, or sometimes obstructive uropathy (;). In the current era of an increased life expectancy and the aging of baby boomer generation, male LUTS would become an issue of increasing socioeconomic and medical importance.
The main pharmacological agents for the management of LUTS are alpha-blockers and 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors (5ARIs). Currently, international guidelines recommend the use of alpha-blockers for symptomatic relief in LUTS patients who do not have a markedly enlarged prostate, while highlighting that these agents do not alter the natural progression of the disease. On the other hand, 5ARIs, which can be administered as monotherapy or in combination with alpha-blockers, are recommended for symptomatic men with an enlarged prostate and are associated with decreased risk of urinary retention and related surgery. One of the major trials to support such recommendation is the Combination of AvodartTM (dutasteride) and tamsulosin (CombAT) trial. In this randomized- multicenter, double-blind, parallel-group study of 50 years or older men with a clinical diagnosis of moderate to severe BPH, a single-dose tamsulosin/dutasteride combination therapy was compared with tamsulosin and dutasteride monotherapies. It was found that patients with a prostate volume =40 ml had a lower risk of disease progression, AUR, and BPH-related surgery in the groups receiving dutasteride or combination therapies than in the group receiving tamsulosin monotherapy.
In terms of economic burden, BPH/LUTS is associated with high personal and societal costs, which are evident in direct medical costs and indirect losses in daily functioning, and through its negative impact on quality of life (QoL) for both patients and partners. Treatment and interventions for BPH/LUTS are essential, which aim at providing symptom relief as well as addressing the root cause, while limiting the occurrence of adverse events. As the prevalence of BPH/LUTS increases with age, the burden on the healthcare system and society may increase due to the aging population. In the United Kingdom, it was estimated that more than $180 million was spent on BPH treatments each year. In 2000, it was estimated that the direct cost of medical services for BPH in the United Sates was about US$1.1 billion. In Hong Kong, the per capita total expenditure on health in 2010/2011 was HK$ 13302 (US$ 1705). Like many places around the world, the healthcare systems local and abroad face an increasing cost scrutiny. Cost-effectiveness assessment of treatments is gaining more importance to ensure patient satisfaction as well as the most efficient outcome in the environment of cost-containment.
In view of this, the objective of our study was to evaluate the long-term cost-effectiveness of oral, daily, single-dose combination therapy dutasteride/tamsulosin (Duodart ), compared with oral, daily tamsulosin 0.4 mg in Hong Kong (HK).
SECTION: METHODS
Materials and Methods
Overview of the Economic Model
A Markov model was developed to project the overall cost-savings of combination therapy in a hypothetical cohort of 10,000 patients treated in the public healthcare sector of HK.A Markov model was developed to project the overall cost-savings of combination therapy in a hypothetical cohort of 10,000 patients treated in the public healthcare sector of HK.A Markov model was developed to project the overall cost-savings of combination therapy in a hypothetical cohort of 10,000 patients treated in the public healthcare sector of HK. As such, ethical approval was not obtained since no patient was involved in this research. The natural history of BPH progression has been widely examined in literature. As such, we used this as our base case to build our model. We subsequently had a discussion workshop to seek clinical experts' views on the disease progression pathway of BPH and to understand the use of different treatments in the local context. The workshop included review of international BPH management guidelines, exploration of consensus in the local clinical setting, as well as retrospective analysis of BPH outcome data from the territory. The model population is consistent with the entry criteria for the CombAT trial, i.e., the hypothetical cohort of patients =50 year of age with a BPH clinical diagnosis by medical history and physical examination. This age group was representative of BPH patient population in Asia and the most commonly studied age group in clinical trials.
The model was structured according to the HK-specific treatment practice, and is shown in Figure 1. In the beginning of the simulation, patients start from BPH state. As time progresses, patients might remain in BPH state, transition between the symptom states, experience AUR, receive a surgical intervention (TURP), or die due to natural causes. After experiencing an AUR episode, the patient could transition back to BPH state. After TURP, a patient would receive medical intervention or have a repeated TURP procedure if the initial surgical procedure is not successful. Patients who have undergone TURP could die due to complications of the procedure, or they could die due to other causes. A patient in TURP, repeated TURP or medical intervention state could recover back to healthy state.
SECTION: FIG
Model structure. $The death state includes patients who died from TURP and all-cause mortality.
SECTION: METHODS
The analysis was performed from the healthcare payers' perspective, which only included direct costs. A cycle length of 1 year was adopted to capture the full effect of both intervention in terms of resource use and quality of life.The analysis was performed from the healthcare payers' perspective, which only included direct costs. A cycle length of 1 year was adopted to capture the full effect of both intervention in terms of resource use and quality of life. In the base-case scenario, the model was simulated over 4 years, i.e., duration of the trial. To assess the sensitivity of the model results to the time horizon, the model was also run for 35 years, i.e., patients' life span. A discount rate of 3% was applied to both cost and outcome.
Assumptions
There are a few assumptions made in our model as described in the following:
In reality, BPH state can be classified according to severity, i.e., mild, moderate, and severe states. However, due to the lack of granular data on symptom severity as measured by the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) of BPH patients, we modeled patients into one BPH state;
It is assumed that high proportion of acute urinary retention (AUR) patients (80%) will receive transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) procedure. This uncertainty will be addressed using 1-way and multivariate probabilistic sensitivity analyses;
Patients who recover from the first TURP procedure are assumed to incur only one follow-up cost. Medical intervention means the use of pharmacological agents for follow-up management;
Post-TURP death due to TURP-related complications is defined as death which occurs within 30 days after TURP procedure;
The second TURP procedure will require different amount of resources compared to the first TURP; Based on local literature, post-TURP death due to second TUPR is assumed to be the same as that from first TURP;
It is assumed that patients will receive at most 2 TURP procedures.
Data Inputs
As summarized in Table 1, model parameters including transition probabilities, efficacy, costs, and utilities were derived from HK-specific sources, literatures and assumptions based on clinical inputs.
SECTION: TABLE
Model inputs.
Parameters Base-case Range Source Transition probability (monthly) Remaining in BPH 0.345 0.248-0.45 BPH patients who experience TURP 0.021 0.0098-0.036 AUR patients going through TURP 0.8 0.75-0.85 Prince of Wales Hospital TURP patients' 30-day mortality 0.0237 0.0179-0.0296 TURP patients who recover 1 N/A TURP patients who require medical intervention 0.059 N/A Prince of Wales Hospital% TURP patients who require repeated surgical intervention 0.059 N/A Prince of Wales Hospital% Patients with repeated TURP died from surgical procedure 0 N/A Prince of Wales Hospital% Patients who remain at recovery state 0.329 0.275-0.41 Prince of Wales Hospital Recovered patients who require medical intervention 0.0467 0.0295-0.0744 Prince of Wales Hospital Patients on medication who require the second TURP 0.036 0.0215-0.061 Prince of Wales Hospital Patients with repeated TURP requiring medication intervention 0.0025 N/A Prince of Wales Hospital% Patients with repeated TURP who recover 1 N/A Prince of Wales Hospital% Patients remain on medication 0.393 0.378-0.438 Prince of Wales Hospital% TURP patients who fully recover 0.998 0.978-1 Prince of Wales Hospital% Patients on medication who transition to AUR state 0 BPH patients who experience AUR 0.004 0.00064-0.0154 All-cause mortality HK life table Efficacy (over 4 years) Efficacy of tamsulosin/dutasteride against AUR (vs. monotherapy) 0.676 0.527-0.778 Efficacy of tamsulosin/dutasteride against TURP (vs. monotherapy) 0.706 0.577-0.795 Cost (per annum) (2018 US$)@ tamsulosin/dutasteride 464.97 348-581 Hong Kong public hospital formulary estimation Tamsulosin 55.79 41.8-69.7 Hong Kong public hospital formulary estimation Managing a patient who is initially in BPH moderate state 471 223-720 Prince of Wales Hospital% Managing a patient who experiences an episode of AUR 1312 590-4,199 Prince of Wales Hospital% TURP procedure 6334 4,549-8,119 Prince of Wales Hospital% Managing a patient who requires medical intervention 371 123-620 Prince of Wales Hospital% Utility BPH mild 0.993 0.94-1 BPH moderate 0.903 0.86-0.95 BPH severe 0.79 0.75-0.83 BPH (weighted) (used in the model)$ 0.876 0.83-0.92 AUR 0.25 0.24-0.26 TURP# 0.25 0.24-0.26 Medical intervention 0.25 0.24-0.26 Assumption Recovery 1.0 0.95-1 Assumption
SECTION: METHODS
The majority of the transition probabilities were derived from a cohort of 200 BPH patients from Prince of Wales Hospital. Those patients comprised of roughly 10% of overall BPH patients in HK thus were considered representative of all BPH patients' profile in HK. The remaining probabilities were obtained from published literature where available. In addition to mortality due to TURP procedure, the model also allowed for patients to die from all-cause mortality which was obtained from HK life table. The efficacy of the different interventions were derived from a 4-years, multicentre, randomized, double-blind, parallel-group CombaT clinical trial which included 4,844 men =50 years of age with a clinical diagnosis of BPH, International Prostate Symptom Score =12. The acquisition cost price of combination therapy and tamsulosin were US$1.274 and US$0.15 per tablet respectively based on the acquisition cost of Prince of Wales Hospital, which is a public hospital. The costs are relatively similar across all public hospitals in Hong Kong, which account for the care of majority of patients with BPH in the territory. Similarly, the costs of management of BPH, AUR, TURP, and medical intervention were all solicited from Prince of Wales Hospital. Quality of life (utility) values associated with each health state were extrapolated from two other BPH cost-effectiveness studies as local utility study was not available. In the model, QALYs were calculated by applying the utility to the survival duration of a patient from his/her health state. There was significant reduction of utility for patients experiencing AUR and having TURP procedure compared with patients at BPH state.
Assessment Methods of Outcomes
Outcome measure is expressed as incremental cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained.Outcome measure is expressed as incremental cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained. As of now, there is no cost-effectiveness threshold in Hong Kong, 3 times Hong Kong GDP per capita 2017 (US$45,887) recommended by WHO-CHOICE The CHOICE (CHOosing Interventions that are Cost-Effective) was used to determine if the new intervention is cost-effective compared to the existing one.
Deterministic One-Way Sensitivity Analysis (OWSA)
To identify key model parameters, OWSA was conducted over the range of pre-defined values of each parameter's point estimate (i.e., 95% confidence interval). Results were plotted in a tornado diagram according to the extent of the parameter's impact on the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER).
Multivariate Probabilistic Sensitivity Analysis
To assess the simultaneous influence of model parameters on the ICER, a multivariate probabilistic sensitivity analysis was performed using second-order Monte Carlo simulation (computational algorithm based on repeated random sampling of the probability distributions for each model parameter). a multivariate probabilistic sensitivity analysis was performed using second-order Monte Carlo simulation (computational algorithm based on repeated random sampling of the probability distributions for each model parameter). A total of 10,000 Monte-Carlo iterations were simulated, each generating a model-estimated value for the cost and QALY. The cost-effectiveness plane was produced depicting the scatterplot of the 10,000 simulated sets of cost and QALY estimates. In addition, a cost-effectiveness acceptability curve (CEAC) was generated to display the probability of cost-effectiveness of both interventions at each willingness-to-pay threshold. Table 2 presents the categories of model parameters, probability distributions as well as the upper and lower values used in the multivariate probabilistic sensitivity analysis.
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Model inputs and their distributions used in multivariate probabilistic sensitivity analysis.
Model parameter Probability distribution Distribution parameters Mean/base case LL UL Probabilities Probability ofBPH Beta alpha=0.62 0.0208 0.0098 0.036 patients who experience beta=29.27 TURP Probability of patients Beta alpha=2.83 beta=7.79 0.3295 0.275 0.41 who still remain at recovery state Probability of recovered Beta alpha=2.24 0.0743 0.0295 0.0774 patients who require beta=27.97 medical intervention Probability of patients Beta alpha=2.3 beta=35.16 0.0614 0.0215 0.061 on medication who require the second TURP Probability of BPH Beta alpha=0.06 0.02 0.0032 0.075 patients who experience beta=2.9 AUR Treatment effects for disease progression Efficacy of Beta alpha=1.77 0.676 0.527 0.778 tamsulosin/dutasteride beta=0.85 against AUR Efficacy of Beta alpha=2.5 beta=1.04 0.706 0.577 0.795 tamsulosin/dutasteride against TURP Cost Managing a patient who Gamma alpha=3.61 471 223 720 is initially in BPH lambda=0.01 moderate state Managing a patient who Gamma alpha=0.21 lambda=1.57 1312 590 4,199 experiences an episode of AUR Managing a patient who Gamma alpha=12.59 6334 4549 8119 undergoes TURP lambda=0.002 procedure Managing a patient who Gamma alpha=2.24? lambda=0.006 371 123 620 requires medical intervention
SECTION: METHODS
The model was implemented in TreeAge pro 2017 (TreeAge Software, Williamstown, MA, United States). A microsimulation of 10,000 patients was executed to enable the tracking of the number of clinical events.
SECTION: RESULTS
Results
Base-Case Analysis
As shown in Table 3, the Markov microsimulation based on 10,000 iterations showed that, over 4 years, compared to tamsulosin, combination therapy could prevent 0.03 AURs (~27% reduction) per patient, 0.07 TURPs (~32% reduction) per patient, and 0.002 deathscompared to tamsulosin, combination therapy could prevent 0.03 AURs (~27% reduction) per patient, 0.07 TURPs (~32% reduction) per patient, and 0.002 deaths (~3.5% reduction) over 4 years. Compared to tamsulosin, combination therapy can lead to cost reduction of US$31, US$1,029, and US$2 per patient due to reduced episodes of AUR, TURP and need of medical intervention, respectively and additionally a delay in patient's progression to AUR and TURP. However, those benefits came with an incremental drug cost of US$1,543 per patient over 4-year period. The increased number of BPH (3.43) for combination therapy compared to that (3.3) of monotherapy was mainly due to the delayed progression of BPH patients to AUR and TURP health states. In addition, the analysis showed that a patient on combination therapy would experience more QALYs (3 vs. 2.93 QALYs) than those on monotherapy. As a result, replacing monotherapy by combination therapy was expected to lead to US$11,651 per QALY gained.
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Base-case results.
Combination therapy (a) Monotherapy (b) Difference (a-b) Model time horizon: 4 years Average cost per patient of 10,000 population (US$ 2018) Drug 1,749 206 1,543 BPH 1,935 1,642 293 AUR 108 139 -31 TURP 1,090 2,119 -1,029 Medical intervention 6 8 -2 Health outcomes per patient (by episode) BPH 3.43 3.3 0.15 AUR 0.08 0.11 -0.03 TURP 0.22 0.29 -0.07 Death 0.056 0.0577 -0.002 QALY 3.00 2.93 0.07 Incremental cost-effectiveness ratio Cost per QALY gained 11,651 Model time horizon: Life-time (35 years) Average cost per patient of 10,000 population (US$ 2018) Drug 7,473 856 6,617 BPH 5,224 4,475 749 AUR 2,644 3,095 -451 TURP 6,124 11,594 -5,470 Medical intervention 212 249 -37 Health outcomes per patient (by episode) BPH 11.09 9.5 1.59 AUR 2.01 2.36 -0.35 TURP 2.25 2.62 -0.37 Death 0.9675 0.9784 0.0109 QALY 10.29 9.87 0.42 Incremental cost-effectiveness ratio Cost per QALY gained 3,329
SECTION: RESULTS
As the modeling time horizon was extended to life-time, compared to monotherapy, more health benefits were projected for patients receiving combination therapy, i.e., a reduction of 0.35 AURs per patient, 0.37 TURPs per patient and 0.0109 deaths, which translated into 0.42 QALY gained per patient. In addition, using combination therapy at an incremental drug cost of US$6,617 compared to tamsulosin could potentially save US$451 per patient in managing AUR and US$5,470 per patient in TURP procedure. Similarly, as the combination therapy reduced risks of a patient progressing to AUR and TURP health states, therefore, an incremental cost of US$749 in managing BPH was incurred.
Way Sensitivity Analysis
The OWSA showed that the top five most influential parameters on ICER were annual cost of tamsulosin/dutasteride, efficacy of tamsulosin/dutasteride against TURP, and probability of BPH patients who experienced AUR, cost of providing TURP procedure and utility of BPH. The remaining parameters had only a moderate influence on ICER estimates causing ICER to vary by no more than US$2,000. On the whole, all the ICERs were found to be between US$6,000 and US$17,000 per QALY when parameters were varied over their uncertainty range (Figure 2).
SECTION: FIG
Tornado diagram for one-way sensitivity analysis. #The results were based on 4-year projection.
SECTION: RESULTS
Multivariate Probabilistic Sensitivity Analysis
The average incremental costs and QALYs over the 10,000 Monte Carlo simulations from the probabilistic sensitivity analysis were essentially similar compared to the deterministic base-case results. As shown in Figure 3A, over 4-year projection period, the scatterplots of incremental costs and QALYs for combination therapy vs. monotherapy showed that over 98% of the 10,000 Monte Carlo iterations fell within the north-east quadrant, suggesting that combination therapy produced higher QALYs at a higher cost, even with uncertainty in all parameters. In Figure 3B, over life-time horizon, there was a trend suggesting that combination therapy was cost-saving, i.e., less costly and more effective, among 12.8% of all 10,000 simulations while the remaining simulated results fell within the north-east quadrant.
SECTION: FIG
Cost-effectiveness scatterplot. (A) Cost effectiveness projection over 4 years. (B) Cost effectiveness projection over life-time.
SECTION: RESULTS
As shown in Figure 4, the CEAC showed that, over 4-year time horizon, it demonstrated that the probability of combination therapy being cost-effective was greater than 95% if willingness to pay (WTP) threshold is above US$40,000. Besides, the combination therapy had a probability of 97% of being cost-effective over monotherapy at one time HK GDP per capita of US$45,887. Over life-time projection, combination therapy would have a probability of cost-effectiveness of more than 95% if WTP threshold is above US$20,000. It will achieve a probability of 99% being cost-effective at one time HK GDP per capita.
SECTION: FIG
Cost effectiveness acceptability curve. (A) Projection over a 4 year period. (B) Projection over lifetime period.
SECTION: DISCUSS
Discussion
Hong Kong's healthcare system comprises of the public and private sector, with the former being the cornerstone of the healthcare system, acting as a safety net for the population. The public system currently serves 90% of all inpatient needs and ~30% of outpatient services. It has a very comprehensive range of services which are charged at very low rates, representing approximately 95% subsidy from the actual cost. Similar to many countries around the world, Hong Kong is currently facing serious challenges due to its rapidly aging population. It is estimated that the total population aged 60 years in Hong Kong will rise from 12.5% currently to 25% in 2030, which will thus result in an increase in BPH prevalence. 5ARIs and alpha blockers, used either as monotherapy or combination therapy, are common modalities for BPH/LUTS treatment. While the results of the CombAT trial proved the clinical benefits of dutasteride/tamsulosin combination in symptom relief and reducing clinical progression of BPH, our model based on current drug price showed that patients who were treated with combination therapy experienced more QALYs but incurred higher costs than patients on background medications, leading to an ICER of US$11,651 and US$3,329 per QALY over 4-year and life-time horizon. Deterministic OWSA indicated that the results were most sensitive to the acquisition cost of combination therapy and drug efficacy.
It is worth noting that based on hospital data 80% of all patients with AUR would eventually go through the most common surgical procedure for BPH treatment, i.e., TURP. This is reflective of the reality as a small number of patients would not be fit for surgery due to various medical reasons, and besides TURP there are other surgical options for the management of TURP, e.g., laser prostatectomy. However, in the setting of the local health care system, TURP is still the majority. Such assumption for the construction of the Markov model would give a good estimation of the results.
Despite the differences in epidemiology and costs, our findings were consistent with the other published cost-effectiveness analyses which also showed that combination therapy led to the potential incremental cost and benefit of QALYs gained, leading to cost-effectiveness of the new intervention. For example, a study in Canady by showed that, over a lifetime, the combination therapy led to an ICER of US$20,224 per QALY gained over 10-year time horizon and was considered cost-effective for 99.6% of probability at a willingness-to-pay threshold of CAN$50,000 (US$39,752) per QALY. In the United Kingdom, constructed a Markov state transition model measured by QALYs for patients aged =50 years with BPH and moderate to severe symptoms. While cumulative discounted costs per patient were higher with combination therapy than with tamsulosin alone, QALYs were also higher. Their probabilistic sensitivity analysis revealed that the probability of combination therapy being cost-effective lied in the range of 78-88%. In a Norwegian economic model, used a semi-Markov model to project costs and utility outcomes over two time horizons, namely 4 years and lifetime. ICERs of combination were US$12,374 and US$6,871 over 4 years and lifetime, respectively. Another Japanese study on the pharmacoeconomic evaluation of combination therapy suggested that such treatment with alpha blocker and dutasteride in BPH patients would be more cost-effective than alpha blockers alone in patients with moderate to severe symptoms. The ICERs for combination therapy versus monotherapy calculated at 4 years and 10 years were US$47,581 and US$55,532/QALY gained, respectively, both below the acceptable ICER threshold in Japan.
The present study has several limitations. Firstly, in our Markov model, due to data availability, we did not separate the state of symptomatic BPH into patients with mild, moderate and severe symptoms according to IPSS score. Instead, these 3 groups of patients were analyzed as a single group. Such categorization might have made the prediction of AUR probability less precise. As shown in OWSA, the utility of BPH has substantial impact on ICER. Future study on classification of BPH severity was thus warranted. Secondly, we didn't model the occurrence of adverse events because, as reported in the ComBAT trial, the incidences of adverse events were very similar between combination therapy and monotherapy. In a 2015 study, complete absence of ejaculation was experienced by 23% of patients on combination therapy, and 15% on tamsulosin alone. In the same study, it was found that erection improved in both groups of the patients. Overall, the difference in adverse events between the 2 groups is very small and is expected to have minimal impact on the cost-effectiveness results. Thirdly, we didn't provide analysis from societal perspective which includes indirect costs associated with BPH patients. Indirect costs associated with BPH would include cost from complications of BPH e.g., urinary tract infection, bladder stones, and hematuria. It also would include the loss of productivity of patients and caregivers. The inclusion of those costs is expected to make the cost-effective results even more favorable. Finally, our model were based upon data from literature which dates back to 1990s. While this may not be truly representative of the current situation, we had to rely on such classical studies for the input of the model. Nevertheless, we had also sought experts input to ensure that the model was representative of the current situation in Hong Kong to ensure its applicability.
In conclusion, our study shows that combination therapy as compared with monotherapy is cost-effective due to substantial reduction in the number of AUR and TURP and the associated direct cost in BPH patients in Hong Kong.
SECTION: SUPPL
Data Availability
Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analyzed during the current study.