Cost-Effectiveness of Non-Vitamin K Antagonist Oral Anticoagulants for Atrial Fibrillation in Portugal

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES:Recently, three novel non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants received approval for reimbursement in Portugal for patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (AF). It is therefore important to evaluate the relative cost-effectiveness of these new oral anticoagulants in Portuguese AF patients. METHODS: A Markov model was used to analyze disease progression over a lifetime horizon. Relative efficacy data for stroke (ischemic and hemorrhagic), bleeding (intracranial, other major bleeding and clinically relevant non-major bleeding), myocardial infarction and treatment discontinuation were obtained by pairwise indirect comparisons between apixaban, dabigatran and rivaroxaban using warfarin as a common comparator. Data on resource use were obtained from the database of diagnosis-related groups and an expert panel. Model outputs included life years gained, quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), direct healthcare costs and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs). RESULTS:Apixaban provided the most life years gained and QALYs. The ICERs of apixaban compared to warfarin and dabigatran were €5529/QALY and €9163/QALY, respectively. Apixaban was dominant over rivaroxaban (greater health gains and lower costs). The results were robust over a wide range of inputs in sensitivity analyses. Apixaban had a 70% probability of being cost-effective (at a threshold of €20 000/QALY) compared to all the other therapeutic options. CONCLUSIONS:Apixaban is a cost-effective alternative to warfarin and dabigatran and is dominant over rivaroxaban in AF patients from the perspective of the Portuguese national healthcare system. These conclusions are based on indirect comparisons, but despite this limitation, the information is useful for healthcare decision-makers.

Ki-67 Proliferation Index in Gastric Cancer - Biologic Significance

Objectives/Introdution: Ki-67 protein has been used as an indicator of proliferation activity in tumor cells. In gastric cancer the prognostic value has not been fully understood. This study was designed to assess the biologic significance of Ki-67 proliferation index (PI) in gastric cancer. Material/Methods: Seventy-two patients with gastric cancer were evaluated. These patients underwent gastric resection, and the tumor tissue was stained immunohistochemically. Ki-67 PI was defined as the percentage of tumor cells positive for Ki-67. Ki-67 PI was correlated with clinicopathological characteristics and patient survival. Results: A low Ki-67 PI (less than or equal to 50%) was associated with poorly differentiated histology - diffuse type (p=0.009) and signet ring cells (p=0.004) - and younger age (p=0.022). A worse prognosis in patients with low Ki-67 PI was also found (a mean survival of 41.8 vs 63 months for high Ki-67 PI group), but not statistically significant (p=0.623, log rank test). Discussion/Conclusion: We found an inversely correlation between Ki-67 PI and histological differentiation grade. Patients in group with low Ki-67 PI are younger, with poorly differentiated histology and have a lower mean survival. Like other studies already suggested, we may have two different tumors phenotypes - highly invasive with low proliferative capability, and less invasive potential with higher proliferative ability. However, in this sample, no significant prognostic value was achieved between both.