Real-world treatment patterns, resource utilization and costs in biliary tract cancers in the USA

Aim: To evaluate real-world treatment patterns, survival and healthcare-resource utilization in US patients with advanced biliary tract cancers (BTC) receiving systemic therapy.Patients & methods: This study used claims data from the Healthcare Integrated Research Database (HIRD®) linked to clinical data from the Cancer Care Quality Program (January 1, 2015-September 30, 2020).Results: Of 413 patients, 84.5% received gemcitabine-based first-line (1L) treatment, 46% received second-line treatment, and 16.5% received third-line (3L) treatment. All-cause mortality was 53% and approximately 70% of patients had ≥1 inpatient visit. The total mean per-patient-per-month all-cause costs were $19,589 for 1L and $33,534 for 3L treatment.Conclusion: Results showed poor survival, significant resource use and high costs as treatment line progresses for patients with advanced BTC.