Healthcare Resource Use, Healthcare Costs, and Unmet Needs Among Patients Treated for EGFR-Mutated Advanced or Metastatic Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

Background Approximately 17% of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have epidermal growth factor receptor-mutated (EGFRm) NSCLC, 84% of which are exon 19 deletions (Ex19del)/exon 21 substitutions (L858R). Unmet needs for patients treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) for EGFRm (Ex19del/L858R) advanced NSCLC, including osimertinib, are relevant to US population health decision makers. Objectives To describe healthcare resource utilization (HRU) and costs by line of therapy (LOT) among patients with EGFRm (Ex19del/L858R) advanced NSCLC initiating first-line (1L) treatment. Methods IBM MarketScan® Research Databases (1/1/2010-1/31/2023) were used to select adult patients with advanced NSCLC initiating an EGFR-TKI during any LOT on/after 4/18/2018 (osimertinib approval; EGFRm Ex19del/L858R proxy). Per-patient-per-month (PPPM) all-cause HRU and costs were described in 1L, second-line (2L), and third-line (3L) overall and among subgroups receiving 1L osimertinib monotherapy or platinum-based chemotherapy (PBC) without immunotherapy, separately. Results The study included 409 patients with EGFRm advanced NSCLC (mean age, 60.5 years; 70.2% female). In 1L, 72.9% initiated osimertinib-based therapy (2L, 45.9%; 3L, 41.2%), 21.0% initiated chemotherapy (2L, 30.0%; 3L, 36.5%), 4.6% initiated another EGFR-TKI (2L, 12.9%; 3L, 12.9%), and 1.5% initiated immunotherapy (2L, 11.2%; 3L, 9.4%). Overall, 170 patients (41.6%) progressed to 2L among whom 85 (50.0%) progressed to 3L. Mean LOT duration decreased with each successive LOT (1L, 10.2 months; 2L, 8.7 months; 3L, 8.0 months). Across LOTs, patients had a mean of >4 outpatient visits PPPM (1L, 4.79; 2L, 4.26; 3L, 4.40), and the 1L osimertinib monotherapy subgroup (n = 279) had a mean of 0.69 inpatient days PPPM during 1L (2L, 0.82; 3L, 0.74). Mean all-cause costs PPPM were $27 751 in 1L, $28 971 in 2L, and $31 251 in 3L. Among the 1L osimertinib monotherapy subgroup, mean PPPM costs were $27 610 in 1L, $35 501 in 2L, and $36 618 in 3L. Among the 1L PBC subgroup (n = 58), mean PPPM costs were $23 820 in 1L, $24 788 in 2L, and $23 348 in 3L. Discussion Among patients with EGFRm (Ex19del/L858R) advanced NSCLC initiating 1L, each successive LOT was shorter and more costly. Conclusions Findings highlight the importance of using the most effective 1L treatments to delay disease progression and reduce HRU and costs.