Healthcare costs and utilization associated with pain among breast cancer survivors: a propensity score matched cohort study using SEER-Medicare data.

Purpose: To assess healthcare costs and utilization of treatment-related pain among breast cancer survivors.

Methods: A retrospective matched cohort study using Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results SEER-Medicare linked data was conducted. The study population included older breast cancer survivors continuously enrolled in Medicare parts A, B, and D in the baseline and 1-year follow-up periods. Survivors with pain were matched to survivors without pain using PSM. Incremental all-cause healthcare costs associated with pain were calculated using a two-part model. Incremental healthcare utilization of inpatient hospitalizations, ER, outpatient, and physician services were estimated using the negative binomial model.

Results: The study included 101,120 non-metastatic breast cancer patients between July 2007 and September 2013. The final analytical cohort after matching included 5891 survivors in both groups. The incremental annual all-cause total healthcare costs per patient were higher in survivors with pain as compared to survivors without pain (Δ = 4379.00 (95% CI: 4308.00-4448.80). The main cost drivers were hospitalizations at 71%, followed by ER at 16% and physician services at 9% for survivors diagnosed with pain. Annual all-cause healthcare resource utilization was also found to be higher in survivors with pain as compared to survivors without pain across all categories of use. Similar trends were observed when stratified by surgery type and subgrouped by pain type and pain-related costs.

Conclusion: This study provided baseline data that can be used for future cost-effectiveness analysis studies and burden of illness studies.

Implication For Cancer Survivors: Treatment-related costs have a substantial burden on healthcare costs and the utilization of Medicare.