Background: Bendamustine-based regimens are often used in the management of patientswith chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) but few studies have analyzed thecomorbidity- and/or adverse event (CAE)-related healthcare costs in patients receivingthese regimens in a real-world setting. Aims: To describe all-cause andCAE-related healthcare costs in relapse/refractory (R/R) elderly patients withCLL treated with bendamustine-based regimens in a real-world setting. Methods: Adult patients with R/R CLL who received bendamustine-based regimens on/afterJanuary 2010 were selected from the Medicare Limited Data Set (LDS) 5% StandardAnalytic Files. Selected patients were classified into cohorts based on the twomost prevalent bendamustine-based regimens observed (index treatment): 1) bendamustine+ rituximab (BR cohort) and 2) bendamustine monotherapy (B-mono cohort). Foreach cohort, all-cause and CAE-related healthcare costs, while on treatment,were reported per-patient-per-month (PPPM). Overall survival (OS) ratesfollowing initiation of the index treatment were described using age- andgender-adjusted Kaplan-Meier curves. Results: A total of 275 patients wereincluded in the BR cohort and 100 patients in the B-mono cohort. Most patientswere male and the mean age was approximately 75 years old. During treatment, totalall-cause healthcare costs were $14,520 PPPM for the BR cohort and $13,125 PPPMfor the B-mono cohort—outpatient costs (mainly driven by CLL-drug costs)represented 86.1% of the total all-cause healthcare costs for the BR cohort and69.8% for the B-mono cohort. CAE costs accounted for 58.3% of the totalall-cause healthcare costs for the BR cohort and 66.9% for the B-mono cohort. MedianOS was 35 months in the BR cohort and 21 months in the B-mono cohort. Conclusion: In this population of elderly patients with R/R CLL treated withbendamustine-based regimens, CAEs were common and translated into importantmedical costs. Median OS was also relatively short suggesting an unmet medicalneed.
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