HTA projects

All HTA projects in progress or completed are listed below. Published here in the course of each project are the protocol and the HTA report, together with the feedback received from stakeholders. The reports are written in English (with summaries in French, German and Italian).

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31.07.2024

Reduced duration of trastuzumab treatment in HER2-positive early breast cancer

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in women in Switzerland. In 15–20% of cases, tumour growth is accelerated as a result of overexpression of the HER2 receptor in breast cancer cells. This is to be prevented by starting treatment with trastuzumab or trastuzumab in combination with pertuzumab either before or after surgery. The report concludes that overall survival with 6 months or less of trastuzumab treatment is likely non-inferior to 12 months of treatment. As regards disease-free survival, the evidence is inconclusive. The cost-effectiveness analysis suggests that while 6 months of trastuzumab treatment results in lower costs than 12 months’ treatment, it may also lead to a decrease in QALYs gained.

16.07.2024

Treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee and the hip via glucocorticoid injection

Osteoarthritis of the knee and the hip are two of the most common joint diseases among adults. The damage to the joint’s cartilage causes pain and restricts mobility. One treatment of knee and hip osteoarthritis entails administering injections of glucocorticoids (steroid hormones) into the joint. The report concludes that the benefits of glucocorticoid injection treatment after three months could not be demonstrated, but improvements after one month could be seen. Given the size of the data corpus used, it is unclear whether the benefits observed could be extrapolated to the entire population.

12.07.2024

Tumour treating fields (TTFields) for the treatment of glioblastoma

Glioblastoma is an aggressive form of brain tumour in adults. The standard treatment for a newly diagnosed glioblastoma consists of surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. There is an additional treatment option in the form of tumour treating fields (TTFields). In Switzerland, the costs of this therapy are reimbursed subject to conditions until the first progression of the tumour. The report concludes that the use of TTFields is likely to have a positive effect on survival. At the same time, the therapy results in additional costs in the healthcare system.

09.07.2024

Immunotherapy with CAR-T cells to treat blood cancer and lymph node cancer

The different forms of B-cell lymphoma are the most common malignant types of lymph node cancer among adults. B-cell leukaemia is the most common malignant form of blood cancer among children and young adults. The compulsory health insurance will assume third-line therapy costs for different types of B-cell lymphoma among adults and B-cell leukaemia among children and young adults with the CAR-T cell therapies Yescarta® and Kymriah® on a provisional basis until the end of 2024. The report concludes that given the low study quality, the significance of the available data with regard to the effectiveness and safety of CAR-T cell therapies is in general very low. Furthermore, no reliable conclusions can be drawn about the cost-benefit ratio based on the available data.

27.06.2024

Trikafta® for the treatment of patients with cystic fibrosis

Cystic fibrosis is a hereditary metabolic disease, in which a defective gene leads to the formation of mucus in the lungs, pancreas and intestines. If untreated, the disease is associated with reduced life expectancy. In Switzerland, since 2021, the drug Trikafta® has been authorised for the treatment of patients aged 6 years and older who have at least one copy of the F508del mutation in the CFTR gene. It is to be reimbursed under the mandatory health insurance scheme for a limited period (until 31 January 2025). The report concludes that there are uncertainties regarding the cost-effectiveness of treatment with Trikafta® in the scenarios analysed. However, the cost-effectiveness is mainly determined by the recurrent annual treatment costs. The total budget impact of treating all patients aged 6 and over would be around CHF 160 million per year.

28.05.2024

Multigene-expression tests for breast cancer

Multigene-expression tests for breast cancer are covered by compulsory health insurance subject to certain conditions. An HTA report has been commissioned to evaluate the mandatory reimbursement of multigene-expression tests for early-stage breast cancer in order to examine the effectiveness, security, cost-efficiency and budgetary effects as well as the ethical, legal, societal and organizational aspects.

08.03.2024

Betahistine or cinnarizine with or without dimenhydrinate for Ménière’s disease/syndrome and symptoms of vestibular vertigo and/or tinnitus

In Switzerland, betahistine and cinnarizine are reimbursed by the mandatory health insurance for patients experiencing symptoms of vertigo, tinnitus, and hearing loss caused by conditions such as Ménière’s Disease and others. Cinnarizine combined with dimenhydrinate is reimbursed for the symptomatic treatment of transient vertigo. The clinical effectiveness of these drugs is unclear.

15.11.2023