Is it a Chimera? A systematic review of the economic evaluations of CAR-T cell therapy

Introduction: The new category of chimeric antigen receptor T – cell raised hopes for a more effective treatment of large B cell lymphoma and acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Nevertheless, their soaring acquisition costs will stretch the fiscal capacity of the health systems worldwide. To this direction, the scope of this study is to provide a systematic review of their economic evaluations.Areas covered: A systematic review of the economic evaluations of tisagenlecleucel and axicabtagene was performed.Expert opinion: The available data indicate that these products demonstrate a potentially favorable cost-effectiveness ratio. Nevertheless, their budget impact is of overriding importance and it should be incorporated in any economic evaluation. Moreover, more affirmative clinical data are imperative in order to mitigate uncertainty.