An indirect approach to identify the healthcare services for thyroid and melanoma cancer patients in Italy: Epicost-2 project.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

An indirect approach was applied to the case-study of thyroid cancer (TC) and melanoma of the skin (MS) in Italy to identify health services (HS) for cancer patients and to enable cost estimation.

Materials and methods

Within the Epicost-2 project, a self-controlled crossover design analysed TC and MS 2018 prevalent cases from Italian cancer registries. Controls (1:1) were matched to cases 18-6 months prior to diagnosis; increases between cases and controls in potentially cancer-related HS claims (P⩽5%) were identified.

Validation

Oncology and clinical experts validated cancer-related HS lists using statistical, clinical, and economic criteria.

Results

The approach identified 202 and 333 cancer-related HS codes for TC and MS, respectively, aligned

SUBMITTER: Mallone S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12476483 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature