Cost of diagnostic and therapeutic management of colorectal cancer according to stage at diagnosis in the Calvados Département, France

Abstract

Screening for colorectal cancer is a high priority of public health in France, as in other Western countries. In spite of its effectiveness, shown by randomized studies, no national program of colorectal screening using fecal occult blood test has yet implemented, due mainly to the low sensitivity of the screening test and to the weak participation of the target population. Economic studies can make a useful contribution to helping the decision makers of public health. One of the advantages to the organization of a screening program is a financial saving generated by advance in diagnosis. To investigate this hypothesis this study assessed the cost of the management of colorectal cancer according to its stage of extension using medical data from a specialized cancer registry and economic data from the national Social Security System. No significant decrease in the first-year costs of treating colorectal cancer was found with advance of diagnosis. The average cost for the first year of management of colorectal cancer after diagnosis was of Euro 21,918. According to the stage of diagnosis, the highest average cost was for the subjects with a cancer with lymph node involvement, with a cost of Euro 31,110. Cancers with an invasion limited to the submucosa or visceral metastases had an equivalent cost, respectively, of Euro 17,579 and of Euro 17,384. With a limited power due to low strength, these results suggest that the organization of a colorectal cancer screening program does not significantly reduce in the first year the total cost of management of this cancer. However, the organization of such screening remains a public health priority, prevention aiming only to allow subjects to live in good health as long as possible,and not to save money.