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Breast cancer treatment costs in younger, privately insured women

Breast Cancer Research and Treatment volume 164, pages 429–436 (2017)Cite this article

Abstract

Purpose

Younger women (under age 45 years) diagnosed with breast cancer often face more aggressive tumors, higher treatment intensity, lower survival rates, and greater financial hardship. The purpose of this study was to estimate breast cancer costs by stage at diagnosis during the first 18 months of treatment for privately insured younger women.

Methods

We analyzed North Carolina cancer registry data linked to claims data from private insurers from 2003 to 2010. Breast cancer patients were split into two cohorts: a younger and older group aged 21–44 and 45–64 years, respectively. We conducted a cohort study and matched women with and without breast cancer using age, ZIP, and Charlson Comorbidity Index. We calculated mean excess costs between breast cancer and non-breast cancer patients at 6, 12, and 18 months.

Results

For younger women, AJCC 6th edition stage II cancer was the most common at diagnosis (40%), followed by stage I (34%). On the other hand, older women had more stage I (46%) cancer followed by stage II (34%). The excess costs for younger and older women at 12 months were $97,486 (95% confidence interval [CI] $93,631–101,341) and $75,737 (95% CI $73,962–77,512), respectively. Younger breast cancer patients had both a higher prevalence of later-stage disease and higher within-stage costs.

Conclusions

The study reports high costs of treatment for both younger and older women than a non-cancer comparison group; however, the estimated excess cost was significantly higher for younger women. The financial implications of breast cancer treatment costs for younger women need to be explored in future studies.

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Acknowledgements

Work on this study was supported by the Integrated Cancer Information and Surveillance System (ICISS), UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center with funding provided by the University Cancer Research Fund (UCRF) via the State of North Carolina.

Funding support

This research was supported by contract number 200-2008-27958 Task Order 38 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Author information

Affiliations

  1. RTI International, Research Triangle Park, 3040 East Cornwallis Road, Durham, NC, 27709, USA

    Benjamin T. Allaire, Diana Poehler & Sujha Subramanian

  2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia

    Donatus U. Ekwueme, Cheryll C. Thomas & Gery P. Guy Jr.

  3. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Justin G. Trogdon

Authors
  1. Benjamin T. Allaire
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  2. Donatus U. Ekwueme
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  3. Diana Poehler
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  4. Cheryll C. Thomas
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  5. Gery P. Guy Jr.
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  6. Sujha Subramanian
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  7. Justin G. Trogdon
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Benjamin T. Allaire.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.

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The findings and conclusions in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Allaire, B.T., Ekwueme, D.U., Poehler, D. et al. Breast cancer treatment costs in younger, privately insured women. Breast Cancer Res Treat 164, 429–436 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-017-4249-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-017-4249-x

Keywords

  • Breast cancer
  • Medical care costs
  • Private insurance
  • Younger women
  • Cancer stage