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ABSTRACT
Introduction: Somatostatin analogues (SSAs) are the largest contributor to the direct medical cost of acromegaly management worldwide. The aim of this review was to identify and report available evidence on the cost-effectiveness of SSAs in the treatment of acromegaly.
Areas covered: A literature search on relevant papers published up to April 2018 was performed. A total of 22 eligible studies (10 full-text articles and 12 conference abstracts) conducted in 14 countries were included in the analysis. In majority of studies, modelling technique was the principal research method.
Expert commentary: The results of cost-effectiveness analyses: 1) support published recommendations where SSAs are indicated as first-line medical treatment for patients with persistent disease after surgery or who are not eligible for surgery; 2) suggest that preoperative medical therapy with SSAs may be highly cost-effective in acromegalic patients with macroadenoma, in centres without optimal surgical results 3) indicate that in some countries pasireotide and pegvisomant appeared to be cost-effective or even dominant strategies in comparison to first-generation SSAs. The main limitation of economic evaluations was the lack of high-quality studies designed to directly compare various treatment strategies in acromegaly.
Declaration of interest
E Orlewska has received research grants from Ipsen. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.
Reviewer Disclosures
A reviewer on this manuscript has disclosed that they received grants and personal fees from Novartis, grants and personal fees from Ipsen, grants and personal fees from Pfizer, grants from OPKO, grants from Chiasma, grants from Aeterna Zentaris.