[Quality of Life Based Health Economics Research on Pharmaceutical Intervention in Cancer Chemotherapy].

Abstract

The adverse chapter of cancer chemotherapy negatively impact QOL, and pharmacists play a key role in improving QOL by providing optimal drug therapy through pharmaceutical interventions. Although outpatient cancer chemotherapy is now common, the impact of pharmaceutical interventions from a QOL perspective has not been thoroughly studied. Therefore, this study investigated the impact and cost-effectiveness of pharmaceutical interventions on QOL using the EuroQol 5 Dimension (EQ-5D) and Quality of Life Questionnaire for Cancer Patients Treated with Anticancer Drugs (QOL-ACD). The study was conducted between 2013 and 2015 on 39 patients who underwent their first outpatient chemotherapy for breast cancer at Gifu Municipal Hospital. The results showed that pharmaceutical interventions improved social relationship QOL in patients experiencing fatigue during the first cycle and enhanced psychological QOL in patients with adverse events of nausea during the second cycle. Furthermore, the maximum incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) was found to be 1.3 million yen per quality-adjusted life years (QALY) according to cost utility analysis. The pharmaceutical interventions by pharmacists in outpatient cancer chemotherapy improve QOL, and the ICER remains well below the Japanese threshold, signifying clear medical and economic benefits.