The cost of relapse in Hodgkin lymphoma.

e17537 Background: Hodgkin’s lymphoma (HL) currently affects approximately 9,000 people in the US. Relapsed HL frequently carries an unfavorable prognosis and is accompanied by chemotherapies and stem cell transplantations. We sought to investigate the cost of relapsed HL after initial diagnosis and treatment. Methods: We used healthcare claims data from the Truven MarketScan Commercial Databases to conduct a retrospective cohort study comparing the economic impact of relapsed HL in the US. We selected people ages 18 and higher diagnosed with HL between 2007- 2012 that received initial treatment consistent with guidelines. Relapses were identified after a period of at least 30 days following discontinuation of initial chemotherapy by the presence of claims indicating new chemotherapy regimens or a stem cell transplant. Incremental total healthcare costs of relapsed patients (hospitalizations, outpatient services, emergency department visits, chemotherapy and other medications) from the initial time of (re...