Patient Characteristics and Costs in Recurrent or Refractory Head and Neck Cancer: Retrospective Analysis of a Community Oncology Database.

Patient Characteristics and Costs in Recurrent or Refractory Head and Neck Cancer: Retrospective Analysis of a Community Oncology Database. Clin Ther. 2018 Mar 09;: Authors: Fisher MD, Fernandes AW, Olufade TO, Miller PJ, Walker MS, Fenton M Abstract PURPOSE: The goal of this study was to describe patient characteristics, health resource utilization (HRU), and costs associated with treating recurrent or refractory head and neck cancer (HNC) among patients with disease progression in the community oncology setting. METHODS: This retrospective observational study was conducted by using data from the Vector Oncology Data Warehouse. Patients had been diagnosed with locally advanced or metastatic (stage III-IVc) HNC between January 1, 2007, and October 1, 2015. Patients also had evidence of at least 1 systemic anticancer therapy regimen following the diagnosis of advanced HNC, with at least 1 disease progression. Costs, treatment patterns, and HRU were evaluated beginning with diagnosis of advanced HNC through 3 lines of therapy. Costs of surgery or radiation were not available for inclusion in the analysis. Total cost for the study period and cost per month were analyzed by using a generalized linear regression model. FINDINGS: The study included 462 patients (median age, 61 years; range, 26-99 years); of these, 81% were male, 77% were white, and 21% were black. At initial diagnosis, the most frequent tumor locations were...
Source: Clinical Therapeutics - Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Tags: Clin Ther Source Type: research