Research and Evaluation

University Teaching Hospital: A cost minimization analysis of intravenous or subcutaneous trastuzumab treatment in patients with HER2-positive breast cancer in Ireland.

Leading Edge Group was asked to compare and contrast both trastuzumab SC and IV treatment pathways in two large Irish University teaching hospitals and assess which route of administration is more cost-effective and results in greater active healthcare professional (HCP) time savings.

On average, the total HCP time saved per trastuzumab SC treatment cycle relative to trastuzumab IV treatment cycle was 59.21 minutes. Time savings in favour of trastuzumab SC resulted from quicker drug reconstitution, no IV catheter installation and removal, and less HCP monitoring. Over a full treatment course of 17 cycles, average HCP time saved accumulates to 16.78 hours with a total estimated direct cost saving of €1,609.99. Loss of productivity for patients receiving trastuzumab IV (2.15 days) was greater than that of trastuzumab SC (0.60 days) for a full treatment course.