Understanding the Effect of Osteoarthritis on Surgical Treatment Patterns, Healthcare Resource Utilization, and Costs Among Patients With Tenosynovial Giant Cell Tumors

Tenosynovial giant cell tumor (TGCT) may be misdiagnosed as osteoarthritis (OA), or the chronic course of TGCT may lead to development of secondary OA. However, little is known about the effect of comorbid OA on long-term surgical patterns and costs among TGCT patients. METHODS: This cohort study used claims data from the Merative MarketScan Research Databases. The study included adults diagnosed with TGCT from January 1, 2014, to June 30, 2019, who have at least 3 years of continuous enrollment before and after the first TGCT diagnosis (date of the first TGCT diagnosis = index date) and no other cancer diagnosis during the study period. Patients were stratified by the presence of an OA diagnosis relative to the index date. Outcomes included surgical procedure patterns, healthcare resource utilization, and costs in the 3-year pre- and postindex periods. Multivariable models were used to assess the effect of OA on the study outcomes, controlling for baseline characteristics. RESULTS: The study included 2856 TGCT patients: 1153 (40%) had no OA before or after index (OA[−/−]), 207 (7%) had OA before index but not after (OA[+/−]), 644 (23%) had OA after index but not before (OA[−/+]), and 852 (30%) had OA before and after index (OA[+/+]). The mean age was 51.6 years, and 61.7% were female. During the postperiod, joint surgery was more common among OA(−/+) and OA(+/+) patients compared with OA(−/−) and OA(+/−) patients (55.7% vs 33.2%). The mean all-cause total costs in the 3-year postperiod were $19,476 per patient per year. Compared with OA(−/−) patients, OA(−/+) and OA(+/+) patients had a higher risk of undergoing recurrent surgery and higher total healthcare costs postindex. DISCUSSION: Higher rates of surgery and increased healthcare cost observed in TGCT patients with postindex OA underscore the need for effective treatment options to reduce joint damage, especially among patients with comorbid OA.