Abstract
e16518 Background: To examine epoetin alfa (EPO) and darbepoetin alfa (DARB) treatment patterns and erythropoiesis stimulating agent (ESA) costs in patients with cancer receiving chemotherapy (CRC). Additionally, we compared the results observed in the total study population (TSP) with a propensity score matched population (PSMP) to account for potential baseline difference that may affect ESA utilization. Methods: A medical claims analysis was conducted from 1/1/2004-7/31/2009 using the HealthCore Integrated Research Database. Patients were age ≥18 years, newly initiated on EPO or DARB, received ≥2 ESA doses, and had ≥1 claim for cancer and chemotherapy proximate to ESA treatment. Patients with myeloid leukemia, chronic kidney disease, receiving dialysis, or treated with both agents were excluded. Propensity score matching was used to identify similar populations in the EPO and DARB groups. January 2010 wholesale acquisition cost was used to calculate drug cost. Mean cumulative ESA dose and drug costs we...
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