Survival, treatment duration and costs of patients with prostate cancer treated with triptorelin in Italy: a study of administrative databases

• Published in: Global & regional health technology assessment (Online) Vol. 11; no. 1; pp. 207 - 213
• Main Authors: Caffo, Orazio, Facchini, Gaetano, Degli Esposti, Luca, Acciai, Valentina, Mauri, Giorgio, Mazzanti, Paola, Fornarini, Giuseppe
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Italy AboutScience Srl 2024; AboutScience
• Subjects: Administrative databases; Original; Prostate cancer; Real-world studies; Treatment; Triptorelin; Real-world studies; Triptorelin; Treatment; Prostate cancer; Administrative databases
• ISSN: 2284-2403; 2283-5733; 2283-5733
• DOI: 10.33393/grhta.2024.3055

Background: Several data support the efficacy/effectiveness, safety and favorable impact on quality of life of triptorelin treatment in patients with prostate cancer. However, little evidence is available concerning triptorelin use in the long term. Methods: We analyzed data on triptorelin treatment in patients with prostate cancer in an integrated Italian administrative database, covering around 6 million health-assisted subjects throughout the country. Patients with at least one prescription for triptorelin in the period 2010-2020 and with no evidence of metastasis were included and followed up until 2021. Overall survival (OS) and duration of treatment were analyzed using Kaplan-Meier curves, starting from the date of first prescription. Results: The cohort included a total of 3,411 patients (mean age: 76.8 ± 8.7 years), of whom 1,326 (38.9%) were treated with triptorelin only and 2,085 (61.1%) with triptorelin combined with an anti-androgen. Overall, 847 (24.8%) patients with prostate cancer died and 1,037 (30.4%) had a treatment switch during the follow-up period, and both the median OS and median duration of treatment were not reached in both groups. The mean annual total cost per patient was estimated as 5,574 €, with almost half of the costs related to medication expenses (2,737 €). Conclusions: We found a long survival and duration of triptorelin treatment in this population of Italian patients with prostate cancer. This study with a long follow-up period further highlights the usefulness of healthcare utilization databases to integrate results obtained from clinical studies with those from everyday clinical practice.