Chemotherapy treatments, costs of care, and survival for patients diagnosed with small cell lung cancer: A SEER‐Medicare study

OBJECTIVES: The effectiveness and costs of new treatments should be assessed in relation to existing practice. We describe treatments, survival and costs for advanced or metastatic small cell lung cancer (SCLC) patients receiving systemic therapy in the period preceding the introduction of immunotherapies. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study of patients aged ≥65 years, identified using linked Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results and Medicare databases. Individuals with a new primary diagnosis of SCLC between January 2007 and December 2013 were followed until December 2014. Chemotherapy treatments, health care visits and costs (in 2016 USD), and survival were determined by line of therapy. RESULTS: A total of 11 812 patients were identified with SCLC. First‐line (1L) chemotherapy was received by 6509 (55.1%) patients, most (93.2%) with carboplatin‐ (71.0%) or cisplatin‐ (22.2%) based therapies, typically combined with etoposide (79.2%). Second‐ (2L) and third‐ (3L) line chemotherapies were received by 2238 (18.9%) and 679 (5.7%) patients, of which 48.4% and 30.9%, respectively, were platinum‐based. The median durations of 1L, 2L, and 3L carboplatin‐based therapies were 5.9, 4.8, and 5.4 months, respectively, and the corresponding durations of cisplatin‐based therapies were 5.3, 4.2, and 5.3 months. During 1L, 2L, and 3L chemotherapies, patients averaged 8.2, 7.4, and 7.3 health care visits per month, respectively, and incurred total mean health care costs of $60 223, $42 636, and $35 903 per patient, respectively. Median survival from the start of 1L, 2L, and 3L chemotherapy was 9.2, 6.0, and 5.7 months, respectively. CONCLUSION: First‐line chemotherapy was primarily platinum‐based, and a plethora of different regimens was used for 2L and 3L chemotherapies. Median survival from the start of 1L chemotherapy was 9 months, with an associated health care cost of $60 000. These data highlight an unmet medical need among SCLC patients receiving systemic therapy.