Molecular Testing* of Gastrointestinal Tumors Does Not Increase Cost Burden

Blueprint Medicines logoBlueprint Medicines presented a poster titled “The Cost Impact of Increased Molecular Testing Rates for the Treatment of Patients with Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors” at the annual meeting of the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) April 23, 2020. The poster is an illustration of a study of the same name authored by Blueprint and Analysis Group of Boston, MA.

The study’s objective was to estimate the cost impact associated with an increase in molecular testing rates of PDGFRA exon 18 and KIT exon 9 for U.S. GIST patients, including the effects of treatment allocation decisions and adverse events. Patients with metastatic/unresectable GIST, as well as GIST treated in the adjuvant setting (adjuvant GIST), with PDGFRA exon 18 or KIT exon 9 mutations, were selected for inclusion in the study. The model compared costs based on observed current testing rates at diagnosis to a scenario where 100% of the patients are tested.

Some keys points the study highlighted was that molecular testing in GIST has a minimal cost impact and a meaningful increase in the number of patients receiving optimized treatment and that the major driver of estimated cost impact is pharmacy cost but that only a small percentage of this is directly due to increased testing costs. Authors noted that sdditional models will need to be developed to estimate the budge impact associated with new treatment lines (such as Ayvakit) that incorporated testing costs and are currently being developed. 1     View Study Summary

* Also known as mutational or biomarker testing.

Reference:

1Proudman D, Miller A, Nellesen D, Mankoski R, Norregaard C, Sullivan E. The Cost Impact of Increased Molecular Testing Rates for the Treatment of Patients with Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors. Abstract C13. Presented during AMCP eLearning Days, April 20-24.