Cost for the treatment of actinic keratosis on the rise in Australia

Abstract

Objectives: To report the burden and cost of actinic keratosis (AK) treatment in Australia and to forecast the number of AK treatments and the associated costs to 2020. Design and setting: A retrospective study of data obtained from medicare Australia for AK treated by cryotherapy between 1 January 1994 and 31 December 2012, by year and by state or territory. Results: The total number of AK cryotherapy treatments increased from 247,515 in 1994 to 643,622 in 2012, and we estimate that the number of treatments will increase to 831,952 (95% CI 676,919 to 986,987) by 2020. The total Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) benefits paid out for AK in 2012 was $19.6 million and we forecast that this will increase to $24.7 million by 2020 (without inflation). Conclusion: The number of AK cryotherapy treatments increased by 160% between 1994 and 2012. we forecast that the number of treatments will increase by 30% between 2012 and 2020. The rates of non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) and AK appear to be increasing at the same rate. During the period 2010 to 2015 AK is anticipated to increase by 17.8% which follows a similar trend to published data that forecasts an increase in NMSC treatments of 22.3%.

Keratinocyte cancers in South Australia: incidence, geographical variability and service trends

“…MBS item codes for KC, malignant melanoma, actinic keratosis and excision of suspicious pigmented lesions for diagnostic purposes were identified from previous studies 12–14 (Supplementary Table 1). These items were sought from the Department of Human Services for anonymised unit record level Medicare data for the most recently held years available by year of treatment received to SA residents.…”

British Association of Dermatologists’ guidelines for the care of patients with actinic keratosis 2017

“…This tightly defines the cost per course of treatment and the territory that can be treated. By contrast, Gibbs and Davis noted that patients used only 31% of the content of a tube of 5‐FU 5% in a single course of treatment, which enables substantial flexibility in the course and territory of treatment …”

Positive association between actinic keratosis and internal malignancies: a nationwide population-based cohort study

“…Although the incidence of AK among Koreans is not as high as the prevalence among Caucasians, the incidence in Korea has increased over the last decade; the prevalence of AK in Korea were 1.95, 4.00, 9.43, 21.90, and 31.81 per 10,000 persons aged in their 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s, respectively 3 . In Australia, 60% of the population over the age of 40 had a diagnosis of AK 4 , and AK incidence increased 160% from 1994 to 2012; by 2020, incidence and treatment cost are forecast to increase by 30% from 2012 levels 5 .…”