Real-world use of inotuzumab ozogamicin is associated with lower health care costs than blinatumomab in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in the first relapsed/refractory setting.

Aim: To compare all-cause and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)-related healthcare resource utilization (HCRU) and costs among patients receiving inotuzumab ozogamicin (InO) and blinatumomab (Blina) for ALL in the first relapsed/refractory (R/R) setting. Patients & methods: We studied retrospective claims for adult commercial and Medicare Advantage enrollees with ALL receiving InO (n = 29) or Blina (n = 23) from 1 January 2015 to 16 February 2021. Mean per-patient-per-month (PPPM) HCRU and total costs were described and multivariable-adjusted PPPM total all-cause and ALL-related predicted costs were calculated. Results: Mean monthly ALL-related hospitalizations were the same for patients receiving InO and Blina (PPPM = 0.8 stays); however, the length of ALL-related hospital stay was almost twice as long among patients receiving Blina versus InO (ALL-related: InO = 7.6 days; Blina = 14.1 days; p = 0.346). In multivariable models, total ALL-related costs were 43% lower for InO compared with Blina (PPPM costs: InO = $93,767; Blina = $163,470; p = 0.021). Conclusion: In the first R/R setting, patients who used InO had significantly lower all-cause and ALL-related costs compared with patients who used Blina, in part driven by hospitalization patterns.

Direct serum assay for microRNA-21 concentrations in early and advanced breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: MicroRNAs (miRs) are a class of small noncoding RNAs whose expression changes have been associated with cancer development and progression. Current techniques to isolate miRs for expression analysis from blood are inefficient. We developed a reverse-transcription quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR) assay for direct detection of circulating miRs in serum. We hypothesized that serum concentrations of miR-21, a biomarker increased in breast tumors, would correlate with the presence and extent of breast cancer. METHODS: The RT-qPCR applied directly in serum (RT-qPCR-DS) assay for circulating miR-21 was tested in sera from 102 patients with different stages of breast cancer and 20 healthy female donors. RESULTS: The assay was sensitive for detection of miR-21 in 0.625 µL of serum from breast cancer patients. For differentiation of samples from patients with locoregional breast cancer from those from healthy donors, the odds ratio was 1.796 and the area under the curve was 0.721. In a multivariate analysis that included standard clinicopathologic prognostic factors, high circulating miR-21 concentrations correlated significantly (P < 0.001) with visceral metastasis. CONCLUSIONS: A novel RT-qPCR-DS can improve the efficiency of miR assessment. Use of this assay to detect circulating miR-21 has diagnostic and prognostic potential in breast cancer.