• Sheila R Reddy, Michael S Broder, Eunice Chang, Caleb Paydar, Karen C Chung, and Anuraag R Kansal.
• Partnership for Health Analytic Research LLC, Beverly Hills, CA, USA.
• Curr Med Res Opin. 2022 Aug 1; 38 (8): 1285-1294.

ObjectiveEstimate the annual cost of care in the 5 years following a cancer diagnosis for 17 invasive cancer types, by stage at diagnosis.MethodsWe used 2012-2016 data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) registry-Medicare claims database to examine cost of care among Medicare beneficiaries with a confirmed cancer diagnosis based on International Classification of Diseases for Oncology, Third Edition histology codes reported in SEER. Beneficiaries contributed to the annual cost calculations (Years 1-5) using their observed time after diagnosis. Beneficiaries were continuously enrolled in fee-for-service Medicare Parts A/B and Part D during follow-up. Total, inpatient, outpatient, and pharmacy cancer-related service costs were calculated.ResultsFrom 2012 to 2016, we identified 597,778 Medicare beneficiaries with incident cancer diagnosis within 5 years (Stage I, II, III, and IV: 32.6%, 33.4%, 15.9%, and 18.0%, respectively). In Year 1, mean (standard deviation) total costs for Stage I diagnoses varied from $7640 ($17,378) (prostate) to $94,636 ($117,636) (pancreas). Total costs increased by stage and reached $58,783 ($92,344) (prostate) to $156,982 ($175,009) (stomach) for Stage IV diagnoses in Year 1. Costs in Year 1 were significantly higher for Stage IV diagnoses than for earlier stages across all cancer types. In Years 2-5, total costs were lower than in Year 1 but continued to increase by stage.ConclusionsBeneficiaries diagnosed at later stages of cancer have higher costs of care (up to 7 times as much) than those diagnosed at earlier stages. Earlier cancer diagnosis may lead to more efficient treatment and decreased management cost.

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