Michelle M. Chen

Background The impact of monoclonal antibody therapy (mAB) for advanced head and neck cancer on end‐of‐life health care utilization and costs has yet to be adequately studied. Methods Retrospective cohort study of patients aged 65 and over with a diagnosis of head and neck cancer between 2007 and 2017 within the SEER‐Medicare registry assessing the impact of mAB therapy (i.e., cetuximab, nivolumab, or pembrolizumab) on end‐of‐life health care utilization (ED visits, inpatient admissions, ICU admissions, and hospice claims) and costs. Results Of 12 544 patients with HNC, 270 (2.2%) utilized mAB therapy at the end‐of‐life period. On multivariable analyses adjusting for demographic and clinicopathologic characteristics, there was a significant association between mAB therapy and emergency department visits (OR: 1.38, 95% CI: 1.1–1.8, p = 0.01) and healthcare costs ( β : $9760, 95% CI: 5062–14 458, p < 0.01). Conclusions mAB use is associated with higher emergency department utilization and health care costs potentially due to infusion‐related and drug toxicity expenses.