Abstract
Little is known about the economic burden associated with colorectal cancer in France. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of age, stage at diagnosis, health care pattern and level of comorbidities on the mean cost of the management of colorectal cancers, using data from a population-based registry and the French health care system. We estimated the direct costs of medical care for 384 colorectal cancers diagnosed in 2004, using the three main databases of the National Health Insurance. The cost of management was defined as the sum of all health expenditures over the 12 months following the date of diagnosis. The mean cost for first-year management was 24,966€ (SE 1,195€). There was no significant difference in overall costs in relation to sex, age, Charlson index score, cancer location or health care pattern. Costs increased significantly with cancer extension from 17,596€ for stage I to 35,059€ for stage IV. Hospitalisation charges represented the greatest economic burden (55.2%), followed by medical purchases (24.4%), outpatient care (17.8%) and transportation (2.5%). These results confirm the major economic burden of colorectal cancer and indicate that total costs depend mainly on the stage at diagnosis. By improving stage at diagnosis, mass screening could contribute to decreasing the cost of managing colorectal cancers.
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Acknowledgments
We thank all private and public clinicians, and staff in charge of Medical Databases Departments which accepted to collaborate in the rapid designation of incident cases. We thank Didier MENU (Association Régionale des Caisses de la Mutualité Sociale Agricole) for contribution in the completion of the database, Stéphanie Normand for valuable statistical help and Célia Berchi for methodological help. This work was supported by a grant from the ‘Institut National du Cancer’.
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Clerc, L., Jooste, V., Lejeune, C. et al. Cost of care of colorectal cancers according to health care patterns and stage at diagnosis in France. Eur J Health Econ 9, 361–367 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10198-007-0083-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10198-007-0083-0