Treating melanoma in the elderly a significant economic burden

In the United States, the cost of treating melanoma in patients aged 65 years or older was about $249 million annually, according to a review of data collected in the SEER database from 1991 to 1996.

Researchers reviewed files on 1,858 patients with melanoma from five states and seven metropolitan areas. Charges were derived from a variety of Medicare claims files.

Average monthly cost was greatest in the terminal stage ($3,933) compared with in the initial phase ($2,194). Costs were lowest during the interim phase ($902).

During the study’s six-year observation period, 14% of the patients died from melanoma. This group of patients, with the shortest survival of about 26 months, had a per patient cost from diagnosis to death of $28,210.

Because costs are so much greater in the advanced and terminal stages of melanoma, the researchers wrote that if these patients were effectively treated in the early stages of disease, annual direct costs to patients could be cut by 40% to 65% of the current value, or between $99 million and $161 million.

Seidler AM. Arch Dermatol. 2010;146:249-256.