ArticleAdvances in therapy2026
Economic Burden of Recurrence in Early-Stage Hepatocellular Carcinoma Treated with Surgical Resection or Local Ablation in the United States: A Retrospective Analysis of Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results-Medicare Data.
Article in Advances in therapy, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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Abstract
introductionPatients with early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who undergo curative-intent therapy remain at risk of disease recurrence. This study aimed to quantify the economic burden associated with disease recurrence in these patients.
methodsPatients ≥ 66 years old with early-stage HCC who have achieved complete radiological response via surgical resection or local ablation were selected from the SEER-Medicare database (2007-2017). Patients with evidence of recurrence following complete radiological response with curative-intent therapy were assigned to the recurrence cohort and followed from the date of recurrence (index date). Patients without evidence of recurrence were included in the recurrence-free cohort and followed from an assigned index date based on the distribution of time between curative-intent therapy and recurrence in the recurrence cohort. Healthcare resource utilization (HRU) and costs (2024 USD) were compared between cohorts, adjusting for demographic and clinical characteristics.
resultsA total of 309 patients with recurrence and 302 patients without recurrence were included. In the recurrence and recurrence-free cohorts, respectively, mean age was 75.0 and 74.5 years (p = 0.21), with male patients representing 66.3% and 60.3% (p = 0.12). Mean follow-up was 20.8 and 22.0 months, respectively. Per patient per month (PPPM) mean all-cause total healthcare costs were significantly higher in the recurrence cohort compared with the recurrence-free cohort ($14,697 vs $6223; adjusted cost difference [ACD] $9205; p < 0.01). Similarly, PPPM HCC-related total costs were $11,202 vs $3313 (ACD $10,021; p < 0.01). Inpatient visit costs were the major driver for the higher all-cause and HCC-related total costs in the recurrence cohort versus recurrence-free cohort.
conclusionsFindings suggest a significant HRU burden and high total healthcare costs for patients with early-stage HCC who experience disease recurrence after curative-intent therapy compared with patients who remain recurrence free. This underscores a need for future novel therapies that offer recurrence-free survival benefits and have the potential to reduce the economic burden of managing early-stage HCC.
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