Blue light method cost-effective for health care services
For national health care services, using fluorescence cystoscopy to examine the bladder of bladder cancer patients is clearly cost-effective. This is shown in a new health economy study carried out in Germany which has recently been published in the professional journal European Urology(1). After only seven years, the costs of the procedure are reduced by 68% if fluorescent cystoscopy is used.
The study followed 301 patients for 7.1 years. Patients that were examined using standard cystoscopy had a recurrence rate of 42%. Those who in addition were examined using fluorescence cystoscopy had only an 18% recurrence rate. Because more tumours were discovered and removed during the first procedure with the help of fluorescence cystoscopy, these patients required fewer follow-up procedures. The annual expense per patient was thus lower. A patient examined using standard cystoscopy costs EUR 246 per year while for patients examined using fluorescence cystoscopy the figure is EUR 78. Annual savings amounted to EUR 168 per patient (68%).
More tumours discovered
Two new studies published in the latest edition of the Journal of Urology confirm previous findings with respect to significantly better tumour discovery using fluorescence cystoscopy2, 3:
Very high risk of recurrence
Cancer of the urinary bladder is the sixth most prevalent cancer in Norway, while also being one of the most unknown. The risk of recurrence is very high - it occurs in some 50-75% of the cases. All patients must be regularly monitored and in many cases new growths have to be removed several times a year for the rest of their lives. It is important to find new tumours early and remove them before the disease becomes serious. Fluorescence cystoscopy enables doctors to discover the usually invisible tumours in many patients; in other words, tumours the doctor does not usually discover using standard cystoscopy.
"The new method helps doctors discover dangerous changes early on; cell changes that are difficult or impossible to see with the naked eye," says Kjetil Hestdal, President and CEO at Photocure. "We hope the method will be able to contribute to reducing the number of procedures for each patient by enabling the doctor to actually find all changes once they are in the bladder and operating. Many of the recurrences are probably tumours that were not possible to see during the first operation."
The new method entails instilling a pharmaceutical, Hexvix, into the bladder an hour before the examination. The drug is absorbed by cancer cells, and makes them sensitive to the blue light used in fluorescence cystoscopy. When the doctors then examine the bladder by viewing inside it with the help of both white light, which has been the standard method, and blue light, the cancer cells glow red when they are hit by the blue light.
Scientific articles:
1 Photodynamic Diagnostics and Noninvasive Bladder Cancer: Is It Cost-Effective in Long-Term Application? A Germany-Based Cost Analysis
2 A Phase III, Multicenter Comparison of Hexaminolevulinate Fluorescence Cystoscopy and White Light Cystoscopy for the Detection of Superficial Papillary Lesions in Patients with Bladder Cancer
3 A Comparison of Hexaminolevulinate Fluorescence Cystoscopy and White Light Cystoscopy for the Detection of Carcinoma In Situ in Patients With Bladder Cancer: A Phase III, Multicenter Study
For further information, contact:
President and CEO Kjetil Hestdal
E-mail: kh@photocure.no
Mobile: +47 913 19 535
www.photocure.com
+47 22062210
Facts about bladder cancer
Facts about Photocure
Photocure ASA is a Norwegian pharmaceutical company listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. The company develops and sells pharmaceuticals and medical devices for the photodynamic treatment and diagnosis of different types of cancer.
Photocure has three products on the market: Metvix® cream combined with the Aktilite® lamp for the treatment of sun-damaged skin and certain types of skin cancer, and Hexvix® for the diagnosis of bladder cancer. In addition, the company has several follow-on products and technologies in the pipeline.