Cost of palliative radiation to the bone for patients with bone metastases secondary to breast or prostate cancer

Radiation Oncology

Table 2 Healthcare resource utilization (Main Analysis)

Patients	Breast cancer	Prostate cancer
	n=207	n=213
Visits
Visits by REOC*
Mean (SD) number of visits	13 (5.8)	13 (5.8)
Median number of visits	13	14
% visits with radiation	72.9	71.7
Procedures
Bone sites radiated by REOC
Patient count	207	213
Total	4607	4739
Mean (SD)	20.9 (12)	20.3 (12)
Median (range)	19 (1–49)	17 (1–58)
Radiation-related procedures†
Patient count	203	212
Total procedures	1843	1984
Mean (SD) procedures	8.4 (3)	8.5 (4)
Median (range) procedures	8 (1–23)	8 (1–32)
Radiation+radiation-related procedures
Patient count	207	213
Total procedures	6450	6723
Mean (SD) procedures	29.3 (13)	28.9 (13)
Median (range) procedures	28 (1–66)	26 (1–76)

* A visit was a unique treatment or consultation. A patient could have multiple visits in a day.
Total resources used from the time of initial bone treatment through the end of the study period.
† Radiation treatment included the actual delivery of radiotherapy, as well as the most commonly observed, associated procedures on the same visit, patient record: medical radiation physics consultation, computed tomography guidance for placement, and radiation calculations. Radiation-related procedures were all other procedures including: treatment devices, design and construction, complex (CPT/HCPCS code 77334); therapeutic radiology simulation-aided field setting, 3-dimensional (CPT/HCPCS code 77295); therapeutic radiology simulation-aided field setting, simple (CPT/HCPCS code 77280); and special dosimetry, when prescribed by the treating physician (CPT/HCPCS code 77331).

ISSN: 1748-717X