Real-world incidence and cost of pneumonitis post-chemoradiotherapy for Stage III non-small-cell lung cancer.

Abstract

Aim: To estimate the real-world incidence and timing of radiation pneumonitis following chemoradiotherapy for Stage III non-small-cell lung cancer and compare costs between patients with and without radiation pneumonitis. Methods: Retrospective analysis using the Symphony Health Integrated Dataverse. Results: Pneumonitis incidence was 12.4% with a 177-day mean time to onset. Patients with versus without pneumonitis were more frequently admitted to the hospital (33.8 vs 19.2%, p<0.0001) and seen in the emergency room (51.9 vs 35.8%, p<0.0001) and had higher mean total healthcare costs (US$4251 vs US$3969per-patient per-month; p=0.0163). Conclusion: Although pneumonitis significantly increased healthcare resource utilization and costs in chemoradiotherapy-treated Stage III non-small-cell lung cancer, the per-patient per-month differential was <10%. Such financial assessments are critical for cost-benefit analysis.