Advanced or metastatic biliary tract cancer in Japan: a study using the Japan Medical Data Center payer claims database

AIMS: Biliary tract cancers are aggressive, with poor prognosis. This study describes clinical characteristics, treatment patterns and healthcare resource utilization in patients with metastatic biliary tract cancer in Japan. MATERIALS & METHODS: This cohort-based study collected data from the Japan Medical Data Center claims database (2014–2018). RESULTS: A total of 325 patients were included; 65.2% were male and the mean age was 59.2 years. A 47.6% had an Elixhauser Comorbidity Index score ≥5. Most frequent regimens were gemcitabine + cisplatin (52.9%) for first-line therapy and tegafur + gimeracil + oteracil for second-line therapy (48.6%) and third-line therapy (27.2%). Approximately 77% of patients had ≥1 hospital admission, with a median length of 57 days. CONCLUSION: This study provides insights on the characteristics and burden of metastatic biliary tract cancer in Japan, highlighting high disease burden in a younger population.