Purpose Outpatient care for patients with cancer compromises 60% to 70% of health care
costs during the last 6 months of life. Recent approvals for expensive biologics and growing
support for lower-cost hypofractionated radiation therapy in the palliative management of
advanced cancer have introduced offsetting spending effects on end-of-life care that may
shift overall expenditures for this patient cohort. Methods and Materials In this descriptive
retrospective cohort study, end-of-life care is defined as the aggregate of medical services …

Purpose/Objective (s) Outpatient care for end-of-life cancer patients is a significant Medicare
expenditure, historically compromising 40% of all healthcare costs over the last 6 months of
life. Recent FDA approvals for new and expensive biologics and growing support for lower-
cost hypofractionated radiotherapy in the palliative management of advanced cancer have
introduced offsetting spending effects on end-of-life care that may shift overall expenditures
for this patient cohort. Our study attempts to identify current spending trends and their …