Direct health-care cost of head and neck cancers: a population-based study in north-eastern Italy

AbstractImprovements in prognosis of head-and-neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) have paralleled with an increase in health-care costs, so that an economic evaluation is of growing importance. Presently, most of the evidence is from insurance-based studies in the USA. Between 2007 and 2010, 879 HNSCC patients were identified through the population-based cancer registry of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, including 266 oral, 187 oropharyngeal, 136 hypopharyngeal, and 290 laryngeal cancers. Health-care costs from diagnosis to treatment initiation and in the following 2  years were retrieved through a record linkage with the regional health data warehouse. This database collected comprehensive health information on all resident citizens. Generalized linear models with a gamma distribution and log-link function were applied to model costs. The average health-care c ost from diagnosis up to 2 years after treatment initiation was €20,184 (95% confidence interval: €19,634 − 20,733). Heterogeneity emerged according to cancer site, elective treatment, and retreatment for cancer persistence/recurrence (no: €13,896; yes: €24,599;p <  0.001). An advanced stage was associated with increased costs stage (I: €12,969; II: €18,276; III: €26,229; IV: €25,574;p <  0.001) as the result of treatment complexity and elevated frequency of patients retreatment due to recurrence. These findings further support strategies to diagnose patients at an earlier cance...
Source: Medical Oncology - Category: Cancer & Oncology Source Type: research