Cost of care for early- and late-stage oral and pharyngeal cancer in the California Medicaid population.

BACKGROUND: This study documents the direct medical costs associated with treating oral and pharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) as early- or late-stage disease according to the current standard of care. METHODS: This retrospective analysis of California Medicaid claims data calculated direct payments for patients diagnosed with OSCC. Patients were defined as being treated for early- or late-stage disease based on treatment modality. Regression determined significant predictors of year-1 cost of care following diagnosis. RESULTS: Median year-1 cost of care following initial diagnosis was $25,319 for the 229 patients identified. Regression results determined that treatment modality and medical comorbidities were significant in predicting costs (p < .05). Costs for patients treated as having early-stage OSCC were approximately 36% less than for those treated as having late-stage disease (p = .002). CONCLUSION: Treatment for OSCC is a significant cost from Medicaid's perspective, and these data suggest early detection may ease its economic burden.

The efficacy of oral lumenoscopy (ViziLite) in visualizing oral mucosal lesions.

Early diagnosis of oral mucosal lesions has been advocated as a means of improving outcomes of cancer therapy. Improved visualization of mucosal lesions may aid in diagnosis by guiding tissue sampling or referral. This multicenter study reports the effect of chemiluminescent light (ViziLite) upon visualization of mucosal lesions. The chemiluminescent light did not appear to improve visualization of red lesions, but white lesions and lesions that were both red and white showed enhanced brightness and sharpness.