Introduction:

From a health economics perspective, there is no evidence of the efficiency of nimotuzumab in the treatment of patients diagnosed with advanced stages of head and neck squamous cell cancer.

Objectives:

To evaluate the efficiency of incorporating nimotuzumab into the Cuban health system as a treatment for head and neck cancer.

Methods:

Two economic cost-effectiveness evaluations were carried out, based on phase III and IV clinical trials, and a budget impact analysis. The universe consisted of all patients included in both studies. Mean cost-effectiveness, incremental cost-effectiveness ratio and budget impact were calculated. Information was obtained from the data collection booklets of the trials and the established methodology for conducting economic evaluations was followed.

Results:

The first evaluation showed that the nimotuzumab-radiotherapy combination was an efficient option. In the second evaluation, the sequential radiotherapy/chemotherapy plus nimotuzumab alternative was not cost-effective, although as the drug is included in the Ministry of Public Health's therapeutic scheme, a threshold for cancer treatment of $33,000/life-years gained is considered. The budget impact analysis showed that applying shorter nimotuzumab administration schedules would achieve an avoided cost of between 8-50 million Cuban pesos.

Conclusions:

The incorporation of nimotuzumab means an additional cost to the health system, but its effectiveness and safety merit its use and the development of new treatment guidelines based on evidence of its efficacy.

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