Comparison of cost-effectiveness of regorafenib and trifluridine/tipiracil combination tablet for treating advanced and recurrent colorectal cancer

Regorafenib and trifluridine/tipiracil combination tablet regimens are standard third-line or later treatments for advanced and recurrent colorectal cancer with no significant difference in efficacy. The present study aimed to compare the cost-effectiveness of using regorafenib vs. the trifluridine/tipiracil combination tablet. The expected cost was calculated based on data from patients with advanced and recurrent colorectal cancer who were treated with regorafenib or trifluridine/tipiracil combination tablet. The median survival time (MST) from the CORRECT and the RECOURSE study was used to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of the regimens. The cost-effectiveness ratio was calculated from the expected cost and MST for the two regimens. The expected cost per patient for the regorafenib and the trifluridine/tipiracil combination tablet regimen was ¥705,330.3 and ¥371,198.7, respectively, and the cost-effectiveness ratio was ¥110,207.9/MST and ¥52,281.5/MST, respectively. In conclusion, the findings of the present study demonstrated that the trifluridine/tipiracil combination tablet regimen is more cost-effective compared with the regorafenib regimen.