Survival, healthcare resource use and costs among stage IV ER + breast cancer patients not receiving HER2 targeted therapy: a retrospective analysis of linked SEER-Medicare data

Table 3 Resource utilization for Medicare-eligible stage IV ER + breast cancer patients who did not receive HER2 targeted agents and matched comparison patients

Characteristic	Study cohort	Comparison cohort	P-value*
N	325	325
Percent hospitalized	83.1%	47.4%	< 0.001
Hospital admissions (PPPM)
Mean ± SD	0.2 ± 0.3	0.1 ± 0.1	< 0.001
Median	0.1	0.0
Hospital days (PPPM)
Mean ± SD	2.1 ± 3.2	0.4 ± 1.0	< 0.001
Median	0.7	0.0
Outpatient
Office/clinic visits
Percent with outpatient office/clinic visits	90.2%	84.9%	0.057
Outpatient office/clinic visits (PPPM)
Mean ± SD	0.9 ± 0.9	0.4 ± 0.6	< 0.001
Median	0.8	0.2
Physician/provider claims
Percent with physician/provider claims	100.0%	98.2%	0.031
Physician/provider visits (PPPM)
Mean ± SD	4.5 ± 3.2	1.8 ± 1.6	< 0.001
Median	3.5	1.4
Percent receiving prescription drugs**	58.5%	60.0%	0.750
Percent receiving SNF care	33.2%	17.8%	< 0.001
Percent receiving home health care	47.4%	21.2%	< 0.001
Percent receiving hospice care	34.2%	7.7%	< 0.001
Percent with DME claims	60.0%	45.5%	< 0.001

*Proportions were compared using the Fisher's exact test while continuous measures were compared using the nonparametric Wilcoxon test.
**Covered by Part D.
DME: Durable Medical Equipment; PPPM: per-patient-per-month; SNF: Skilled Nursing Facility.

ISSN: 1472-6963