open access: (U.S.) The Cost of Initial Care for Medicare Patients With Advanced Ovarian Cancer

open access

 Prior studies documenting the costs of care for patients with ovarian cancer have either used a brief period of time, or have described costs for a particular treatment type.^6–8 Our objectives were to use the SEER-Medicare data set to describe the costs of care for patients with ovarian cancer in the first year after diagnosis, evaluate differences in costs depending on treatment approach, and evaluate factors responsible for variation.

 Conclusions: The financial burden of caring for patients with ovarian cancer is substantial. Treatment that is consistent with NCCN recommendations for treating advanced ovarian cancer, which is shown to have improved outcomes, is not associated with higher cost.