Retrospective cohort study of health care contact days in older adults with metastatic cancer

A retrospective cohort study using the SEER-Medicare database assessed trends in health care contact days among older adults (aged ≥ 66 years) diagnosed with metastatic breast, colorectal, lung, or prostate cancer between January 2008 and February 2019, who survived at least 1 year. The study included 55,806 patients. In the year after diagnosis, patients with colorectal cancer had the highest mean number of contact days (62.9 ± 48.1), followed by patients with lung cancer (60.2 ± 47.0), breast cancer (48.7 ± 47.9), and prostate cancer (40.1 ± 42.4). Across all cancer types, mean number of contact day increased from 2008 to 2019 with a prominent increase in ambulatory days from 2016 onward; the largest increase was observed for breast cancer: from 44.9 (95% CI 38.7-52.2) to 57.6 (46.9-70.8) days. The authors conclude that these results suggest that oncology teams should discuss expected contact days and related burdens when developing care goals and treatment plans with older adults patients.