Cost-effectiveness of camrelizumab versus chemotherapy for the treatment of advanced or metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Background: To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of camrelizumab versus chemotherapy for patients with advanced or metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) from the perspective of health system and to provide a basis for health decisions in China. Methods: A Markov model of 3 health states throughout the lifetime was established based on data from the ESCORT trial. Life-years, quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), and lifetime costs were estimated. The time horizon of lifetime was 5 years and each model cycle represented 2 months. The cost and utility value adopted a 5% discount rate per year. One-way sensitivity analysis and probability sensitivity analysis were used to test the robustness of the results. Results: The results of the cost-effectiveness analysis revealed that the camrelizumab group produced a gain of 2.93 QALY, at a cost of $37,809.12 USD, and the chemotherapy group gained 2.85 QALY, at a cost of $3,7071.52 USD. Camrelizumab was more cost-effective than chemotherapy for patients with advanced or metastatic ESCC. The results of one-way sensitivity analyses showed that the cost of camrelizumab, cost of chemotherapy and utility of progression-free survival (PFS) state were the top three parameters influencing the model. The probability sensitivity analysis results showed that the results of the basic case analysis were stable. Conclusions: Under the willingness to pay threshold of three times per capita GDP of China, camrelizumab as second-line treatment could provide more health benefits for advanced or metastatic ESCC in China.