Improvements in the health-related quality-of-life benefit of cancer drugs approved in China, 2005–2020: an observational study

Background Health-related quality of life (HRQoL), along with overall survival (OS), is a critical study endpoint for measuring the clinical benefits of cancer drugs. Previous studies have examined the OS benefit of new cancer drugs approved in China. However, their HRQoL benefits have not been systematically evaluated. We aimed to characterise the measurement and improvement of HRQoL associated with cancer drugs approved in China. Methods This mixed-methods study comprises of a literature review and a cross-sectional study, including all antineoplastic agents approved in China between January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2020. A systematic search was conducted on December 31, 2023 to extract HRQoL information of identified drugs. We extracted information on the characteristics of HRQoL assessment and statistically significant HRQoL gains compared with the control treatment. Findings A total of 64 novel cancer drugs, corresponding to 115 cancer indications, supported by randomised clinical trials were approved in China between 2005 and 2020. Among the indications, 78 (67.8%) used HRQoL as an endpoint in the pivotal trial. By December 31, 2023, after a median follow-up of 5.3 (range, 3.0–18.8) years from approval, HRQoL information was available for more than half of the indications (75, 65.2%). Thirty-three indications (28.7%) reported statistically significant improvement in HRQoL, with 22 (19.1%) also having documented OS benefit. Approximately one-third of the indications (39, 33.9%) showed no difference in HRQoL, with 21 (18.3%) having documented OS gains. Three indications (2.6%) reported worsening HRQoL. The most commonly used HRQoL measurements were individual disease-specific instruments (62 of 75, 82.7%) while the most frequently employed analysis metric was the mean change scores from baseline (56 of 75, 74.7%). Interpretation Fewer than one-third of cancer indications approved in China had shown HRQoL improvements. There was considerable heterogeneity in the analysis and reporting of HRQoL benefits associated with new cancer drugs approved in China. These findings emphasise the important role of HRQoL evaluation and analysis in clinical research and the necessity of improving the standardization of HRQoL assessment. Funding National Natural Science Foundation of China (72274004).