The incremental healthcare cost associated with cancer in Belgium: A registry-based data analysis.

burden of disease cancer cost-of-illness

Journal

Cancer medicine
ISSN: 2045-7634
Titre abrégé: Cancer Med
Pays: United States
ID NLM: 101595310

Informations de publication

Date de publication:
24 Jan 2024
Historique:
revised: 04 09 2023
received: 26 05 2023
accepted: 03 10 2023
medline: 25 1 2024
pubmed: 25 1 2024
entrez: 25 1 2024
Statut: aheadofprint

Résumé

Similar to many countries, Belgium experienced a rapid increase in cancer diagnoses in the last years. Considering that a large part of cancer types could be prevented, our study aimed to estimate the annual healthcare burden of cancer per site, and to compare cost with burden of disease estimates to have a better understanding of the impact of different cancer sites in Belgium. We used nationally available data sources to estimate the healthcare expenditure. We opted for a prevalence-based approach which measures the disease attributable costs that occur concurrently for 10-year prevalent cancer cases in 2018. Average attributable costs of cancer were computed via matching of cases (patients with cancer by site) and controls (patients without cancer). Years of life lost due to disability (YLD) were used to summarize the health impact of the selected cancers. The highest attributable cost in 2018 among the selected cancers was on average €15,867 per patient for bronchus and lung cancer, followed by liver cancer, pancreatic cancer, and mesothelioma. For the total cost, lung cancer was the most costly cancer site with almost €700 million spent in 2018. Lung cancer was followed by breast and colorectal cancer that costed more than €300 million each in 2018. In our study, the direct attributable cost of the most prevalent cancer sites in Belgium was estimated to provide useful guidance for cost containment policies. Many of these cancers could be prevented by tackling risk factors such as smoking, obesity, and environmental stressors.

Sections du résumé

BACKGROUND BACKGROUND
Similar to many countries, Belgium experienced a rapid increase in cancer diagnoses in the last years. Considering that a large part of cancer types could be prevented, our study aimed to estimate the annual healthcare burden of cancer per site, and to compare cost with burden of disease estimates to have a better understanding of the impact of different cancer sites in Belgium.
METHODS METHODS
We used nationally available data sources to estimate the healthcare expenditure. We opted for a prevalence-based approach which measures the disease attributable costs that occur concurrently for 10-year prevalent cancer cases in 2018. Average attributable costs of cancer were computed via matching of cases (patients with cancer by site) and controls (patients without cancer). Years of life lost due to disability (YLD) were used to summarize the health impact of the selected cancers.
RESULTS RESULTS
The highest attributable cost in 2018 among the selected cancers was on average €15,867 per patient for bronchus and lung cancer, followed by liver cancer, pancreatic cancer, and mesothelioma. For the total cost, lung cancer was the most costly cancer site with almost €700 million spent in 2018. Lung cancer was followed by breast and colorectal cancer that costed more than €300 million each in 2018.
CONCLUSIONS CONCLUSIONS
In our study, the direct attributable cost of the most prevalent cancer sites in Belgium was estimated to provide useful guidance for cost containment policies. Many of these cancers could be prevented by tackling risk factors such as smoking, obesity, and environmental stressors.

Identifiants

pubmed: 38268318
doi: 10.1002/cam4.6659
doi:

Types de publication

Journal Article

Langues

eng

Sous-ensembles de citation

IM

Informations de copyright

© 2023 The Authors. Cancer Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

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Auteurs

Vanessa Gorasso (V)

Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Sciensano, Brussels, Belgium.
Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.

Stefanie Vandevijvere (S)

Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Sciensano, Brussels, Belgium.

Johan Van der Heyden (J)

Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Sciensano, Brussels, Belgium.

Ingrid Pelgrims (I)

Department of Risk and Health Impact Assessment, Sciensano, Brussels, Belgium.
Department of Applied Mathematics, Computer Science and Statistics, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.

Henk Hilderink (H)

Centre for Public Health Forecasting, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Utrecht, The Netherlands.

Wilma Nusselder (W)

Department of Public Health, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Claire Demoury (C)

Department of Risk and Health Impact Assessment, Sciensano, Brussels, Belgium.

Masja Schmidt (M)

Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Sciensano, Brussels, Belgium.

Stijn Vansteelandt (S)

Department of Applied Mathematics, Computer Science and Statistics, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.

Delphine De Smedt (D)

Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.

Brecht Devleesschauwer (B)

Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Sciensano, Brussels, Belgium.
Department of Translational Physiology, Infectiology and Public Health, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium.

Classifications MeSH