pharmacoeconomics
Economic burden of CINV
Therapies need to be evaluated from a pharmacoeconomic
and cost-effectiveness perspective, in order to ensure that
the incremental costs of innovation are outweighed by the
additional benefits to both patients and healthcare systems
Rosanna Tarricone MSc PhD
Associate Dean, Government
Health and Non Profit Division,
SDA Bocconi School of Management,
Milan; Department of Social and
Political Science, Bocconi University,
Milan, Italy
Of 56.4 million global deaths
in 2015, 39.5 million (70%),
were due to non-communicable
diseases (NCDs). 1 The main NCDs
are cardiovascular diseases, cancer,
diabetes and chronic respiratory
disorders. Cancer is among the
leading causes of death, with 8.5
million disease-related deaths
(approximately 22% of all deaths)
in 2015. 2 The economic impact of
cancer is significant and is
increasing. The total annual
economic cost of cancer in 2010
was estimated at approximately
US$ 1.16 trillion. 2 In Europe, the
cost was estimated to be around
€126 billion in 2009, with
healthcare costs accounting for
€51 billion (4% of total EU
healthcare expenditure) and the
remaining 60% of the economic
burden related to non-healthcare
spending, such as productivity
losses. 3
Side effects represent a
particularly crucial issue affecting
the clinical and economic burden
of cancer. Chemotherapy-induced
nausea and vomiting (CINV) is
among the most unpleasant
and distressing aspects of
chemotherapy and is potentially
experienced by 60–80% of
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