Objective:

To analyze the changes in Medicare spending related to prostate cancer treatments over the past decade.

Approach:

• Study Analysis: Shen and colleagues utilized the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results–Medicare linked database to assess spending trends from 2012 to 2021.

Key Findings:

• Prostate cancer-related spending increased from $504 million in 2012 to $1.9 billion in 2021.
• Systemic therapies accounted for nearly three-quarters of all prostate cancer expenditures in 2021, totaling $1.4 billion.
• Second-generation androgen receptor pathway inhibitors represented 64% of total prostate cancer expenditures in 2021, amounting to $1.2 billion.

Limitations:

• The analysis focuses solely on the Medicare fee-for-service population and does not include Medicare Advantage patients.
• Access to the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results–Medicare linked database is changing, which may limit future research.

Sources:

• Shen et al. Study