Cost effectiveness of liposomal doxorubicin versus paclitaxel for the treatment of advanced AIDS-related Kaposis Sarcoma

pidemic Kaposi's Sarcoma (AIDS- KS) is a rare cancer that occurs frequently among patients infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). AIDS-KS is one of the most common AIDS-defining malignancies. To address the cosmetic issue and comorbidities associated with KS, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved liposomal doxorubicin; liposomal daunorubicin and paclitaxel. The aim of this study is to compare liposomal doxorubicin (first-line treatment of AIDS KS) to paclitaxel (second-line) through a cost effectiveness analysis and test the hypothesis that the difference in acquisition costs will translate in a cost saving benefit and/ or cost-effectiveness.;Relevant articles were identified through systematic review of the literature from the National Center for Biotechnology Pub Med database, ISPOR Digest and clinicaltrials.gov using the following medical subject heading (MESH) terms: Kaposi's sarcoma; pegylated liposomal doxorubicin; paclitaxel; AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections; quality of life; costs; and cost analysis. Based on the results, at present, there is no economic study evaluating the cost-effectiveness of liposomal anthracyclines versus paclitaxel. Available cost-studies also showed that liposomal doxorubicin is more cost effective than liposomal daunorubicin thus liposomal daunorubicin has been removed from the analysis. Cost analyses were done comparing a full treatment of the two drugs.;Cost minimization analysis showed that the treatment with liposomal doxorubicin costs...