OBJECTIVES: Real world data on healthcare resource utilization (HCRU) for melanoma patients is limited. This study aimed to analyze HCRU among melanoma patients in Finland.

METHODS: Data from electronic healthcare records on patients diagnosed with melanoma (ICD-10: C43) was retrieved from the Auria Biobank database covering the Hospital District of Southwest Finland (HDSWF) with roughly 470,000 inhabitants. Descriptive analyses of HCRU was conducted by dividing patients into cohorts according to the disease stages: Stage I & II, Stage III, and Stage IV. Each patient was classified into a one of the three cohorts and the classification was based on the worst stage recorded. Follow-up time was measured from the initial diagnosis. The number of healthcare contacts per patient was collected and by dividing by the mean follow-up, the mean HCRU per patient year was estimated.

RESULTS: From 2004 to 2013, 979 patients (49.4% women) were diagnosed with melanoma in the HDSWF. The incidence increased from 50 cases in 2004 to more than 125 cases in 2013. 752 patients had Stage I or II melanoma and had a mean follow-up of 3.46 years, 142 patients with Stage III disease were followed a mean 2.95 years, and 85 Stage IV patients were followed a mean 1.33 years.

For Stage I-II, Stage III and Stage IV patients the mean annual inpatients days per patient were 2.6, 5.3, and 21.5, respectively; the mean annual outpatient visits were 5.8, 9.6, and 23.2; the mean annual number of surgeries per patient were 1.4, 1.6, and 1.6.

CONCLUSIONS: Real world data on HCRU among melanoma patients in show that all types of HCRU increased with worsening of the disease stage. As the Stage III and Stage IV cohorts contain follow-up from patients during earlier stages of their disease, the actual HCRU in Stage III-IV may be higher.