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First-Year Costs of Novel Therapies for Melanoma Among Medicare Beneficiaries
Study findings suggest the significant increase in direct costs of first-year melanoma treatment is associated with the adoption of recent novel therapies among Medicare patients, especially those experiencing advanced stages of melanoma (Cancer. 2021; 127[16]:2926-2933. doi:10.1002/cncr.33515).
“Since 2011, the therapeutic landscape of melanoma has changed dramatically because of the adoption of immune checkpoint inhibitor and targeted therapies,” wrote Kemal Caglar Gogebakan, PhD, Cancer Early Detection Advanced Research Center, Knight Cancer Institute, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon, and colleagues.
This study aimed to quantify the effects of these changes on short-term treatment costs. Dr Gogebakan and colleagues compared first-year cancer-attributable costs among Medicare beneficiaries with melanoma in novel (2011-2015) and historical (2004-2010) treatment eras.
First-year cancer-attributable and out-of-pocket (OOP) costs by cancer stage at diagnoses were estimated using a case-control approach. Total direct costs of treatment during the first year following the melanoma diagnosis were calculated using data from Medicare patients with melanoma aged 67 years and older.
Following the introduction of novel treatments in 2011, first-year cancer-attributable costs per patient for those in stage IV increased by 61.7%, going from $45,952 to $74,297, and per-patient OOP responsibility increased by 16.5% from 2004 to 2015, going from $7646 to $8911. However, across all other stages of cancer, per-patient OOP responsibility decreased by about 30.8%.
Patients with melanoma who were older than 65 years experienced a 4.93% increase in total direct costs between 2010 and 2015, going from $324.68 million to $340.71 million.
Stage IV patients experienced a 56.53% increase ($23.62 million) in yearly total cost, the highest across all stages.
“The direct cost of melanoma increased significantly in the Medicare population, particularly for advanced-stage disease” concluded Dr Gogebakan and colleagues, adding, “Prevention and early detection initiatives may reduce the economic burden of melanoma.”—Marta Rybczynski
