Cost-Effectiveness of Interferon-α as Maintenance Therapy in Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia
Authors: Andrea Messori
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1997)

Letters15 April 1997Cost-Effectiveness of Interferon-α as Maintenance Therapy in Chronic Myelogenous LeukemiaAndrea Messori, Paola Becagli, and Sabrina TrippoliAndrea MessoriAzienda Ospedaliera Careggi, Florence, ItalySearch for more papers by this author, Paola BecagliAzienda Ospedaliera Careggi, Florence, ItalySearch for more papers by this author, and Sabrina TrippoliAzienda Ospedaliera Careggi, Florence, ItalySearch for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-126-8-199704150-00026 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:In their study on the cost-effectiveness of interferon-α in chronic myelogenous leukemia [1], Kattan and colleagues describe a baseline analysis in which the monthly cost of interferon-α is $1500 per patient and a sensitivity test wherein this cost is reduced to $1000.Interferon-α costs approximately $10 per million U, with small international variations [2, 3]. In evaluating this drug in chronic myelogenous leukemia, both the German and the Italian trials ([2, 3] in Kattan and colleagues' article) used a target dose of 62 million U per week (corresponding to 270 million U per month). This yields a ...References1. Kattan MW, Inoue Y, Giles FJ, Talpaz M, Ozer H, Guilhot F, et al. Cost-effectiveness of interferon-α and conventional chemotherapy in chronic myelogenous leukemia. Ann Intern Med. 1996; 125:541-8. Google Scholar2. Schofield JR, Robinson WA, Murphy JR, Rovira DK. Low doses of interferon-α are as effective as higher doses in inducing remissions and prolonging survival in chronic myeloid leukemia. Ann Intern Med. 1994; 121:736-44. Google Scholar3. Messori A, Becagli P, Trippoli S, Tendi E. A retrospective cost-effectiveness analysis of interferon as adjuvant therapy in high-risk resected cutaneous melanoma. Eur J Cancer. [In press]. Google Scholar4. Mark DB, Hlatky MA, Califf RM, et al. Cost effectiveness of thrombolytic therapy with tissue plasminogen activator as compared with streptokinase for acute myocardial infarction. N Engl J Med. 1995; 332:1418-24. Google Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Andrea Messori; Paola Becagli; Sabrina TrippoliAffiliations: Azienda Ospedaliera Careggi, Florence, Italy PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Cited byLifetime Cost-Utility Analysis of Patients with Refractory Epilepsy Treated with Adjunctive Topiramate TherapyCost-Effectiveness of Interferon Alfa-2b Added to Chemotherapy for High-Tumor-Burden Follicular Non-Hodgkin's LymphomaCost-effectiveness of interferon in chronic myeloid leukaemia: Analysis of four clinical studies 15 April 1997Volume 126, Issue 8 Page: 664 Keywords Antibodies Chronic myelogenous leukemia Drugs Extrapolation Liver function tests Quality adjusted life years Research laboratories Statistical data ePublished: 15 August 2000 Issue Published: 15 April 1997 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 1997 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...