Aim: To investigate patient preferences for clinical attributes of first-line metastatic melanoma treatments.
Materials & methods: A discrete-choice experiment and best-worst scaling exercise were used to assess relative preferences for treatment attributes.
Results: The 200 survey respondents had distinct preferences. Avoiding a 30% risk of colitis or hormone gland problems and avoiding severe fever were more important to respondents than avoiding a 20% risk of extreme sun sensitivity (p < 0.05). Patients preferred taking pills to receiving intravenous infusions in a clinic. When attributes were combined, approximately 85% of respondents preferred a risk profile similar to targeted therapy over a profile similar to immunotherapy, holding efficacy constant.
Conclusion: Taking patient preferences into account can help patients get the full benefit from metastatic melanoma therapies.
Keywords: B-RAF; adverse effects; drug therapy; immunotherapy; melanoma; patient preference; progression-free survival; targeted therapy.