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Hospital Resource Utilization and Treatment Cost of Skeletal-Related Events in Patients with Metastatic Breast or Prostate Cancer: Estimation for the Portuguese National Health System

2011; Elsevier BV; Volume: 14; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/j.jval.2010.11.014

1524-4733

J Félix, V. Andreozzi, Marta Soares, Pedro Borrego, Helena Gervásio, A. Moreira, Luís Costa, Filinto Marcelo, Flor María Peralta Castillo, I. Furtado, Francisco Pina, Cristina Albuquerque, Abel Santos, José Luís Passos‐Coelho,

Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment

BackgroundSkeletal-related events (SREs) occur frequently in patients with bone metastases as a result of breast (BC) and prostate (PC) cancers. They increase both morbidity and mortality and lead to extensive health-care resource utilization.MethodsHealth care resource utilization by BC/PC patients with at least one SRE during the preceding 12 months was assessed through retrospective chart review. SRE-treatment costs were estimated using the Portuguese Ministry of Health cost database and analyzed using generalized linear models.ResultsThis study included 152 patients from nine hospitals. The mean (SD) annual SRE-treatment cost per patient was €5963 (€3646) and €5711 (€4347), for BC (n=121) and PC (n=31) patients, respectively. Mean cost per single episode ranged between €1485 (radiotherapy) and €13,203 (spinal cord compression). Early onset of bone metastasis (P = 0.03) and diagnosis of bone metastases at or after the occurrence of the first SRE (P < 0.001) were associated with higher SRE-treatment costs.ConclusionThese results reveal the high hospital SRE-treatment costs, highlighting the need for early diagnosis and treatment, and identify key factors determining the economic value of therapies for patients with skeletal metastases.